Viewing commit history with git log - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Understanding git log output with --oneline

What is the output of the command git log --oneline in a repository with three commits?

A Only the commit hashes without messages

B A detailed list of commits with author, date, and full commit message

C A list of commit hashes and their first line messages, one per line

D An error message saying the option is invalid

💡 Hint

The --oneline option shortens the output to one line per commit.

The git log --oneline command shows each commit as a short hash followed by the first line of the commit message, making it easy to scan commit history quickly.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Effect of --graph option in git log

What does the git log --graph command add to the commit history output?

A A list of commits sorted by author name

B A summary of changed files per commit

C Only commits from the current branch

D A visual ASCII graph showing branch and merge history alongside commits

💡 Hint

Think about how git shows branching and merging visually.

The --graph option adds an ASCII art graph on the left side of the log output to visualize branches and merges.

❓ Configuration

advanced

Customizing git log output with pretty format

Which git log command produces output showing only the commit hash and author name separated by a dash?

A git log --format="%H %ae"

B git log --pretty=format:"%h - %an"

C git log --oneline --author

D git log --pretty=short

💡 Hint

Use the --pretty=format: option with placeholders for hash and author name.

The --pretty=format:"%h - %an" option formats each commit line to show the short hash (%h), a dash, and the author name (%an).

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Diagnosing empty git log output

You run git log but see no output. What is the most likely reason?

A The repository has no commits yet

B The git log command is deprecated

C You are not connected to the internet

D Your terminal does not support git commands

💡 Hint

Think about what git log shows and when it would be empty.

If there are no commits in the repository, git log will show no output because there is no history to display.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Efficiently viewing last 5 commits with concise info

Which command best shows the last 5 commits with short hashes and commit messages in a compact form?

A git log -5 --oneline

B git log --since=5

C git log -n 5 --pretty=full

D git log --limit=5 --short

💡 Hint

Use the option that limits number of commits and shortens output.

git log -5 --oneline shows the last 5 commits with short hashes and one-line messages, which is concise and efficient.