Version control concept (Git) in Intro to Computing - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

What is the main purpose of Git in software development?

Imagine you and your friends are writing a story together. You want to keep track of every change each person makes so you can go back if needed. What role does Git play in this situation?

A Git deletes old versions of the story to save space.

B Git automatically writes new parts of the story for you.

C Git helps keep a history of all changes so you can review or undo them.

D Git sends your story to a printer.

💡 Hint

Think about how you would keep track of changes in a shared document.

Git is a tool that records every change made to files, allowing you to review, compare, or revert to earlier versions. It does not create content or delete history automatically.

❓ trace

intermediate

Trace the sequence of Git commands and their effect

Consider this sequence of Git commands run in a new project folder:

git init
echo 'Hello' > file.txt
git add file.txt
git commit -m 'Add greeting'
echo 'World' >> file.txt
git status

What will git status show?

A It shows that <code>file.txt</code> is modified and not staged for commit.

B It shows no changes; the working directory is clean.

C It shows <code>file.txt</code> is staged for commit.

D It shows an error because <code>file.txt</code> was not added.

💡 Hint

Think about what happens after you modify a file but before you add it again.

After the first commit, the file is changed by adding 'World' but not staged. git status shows the file as modified but unstaged.

❓ identification

advanced

Identify the Git command that creates a new branch

You want to start working on a new feature without affecting the main code. Which Git command creates a new branch called feature?

A git checkout main

B git merge feature

C git commit -b feature

D git branch feature

💡 Hint

Creating a branch is different from switching or merging branches.

git branch feature creates a new branch named feature. Other options either switch branches, merge, or are invalid.

❓ Comparison

advanced

Compare the difference between git pull and git fetch

Which statement correctly describes the difference between git pull and git fetch?

A <code>git pull</code> only downloads changes; <code>git fetch</code> downloads and merges changes.

B <code>git pull</code> downloads changes and merges them automatically; <code>git fetch</code> only downloads changes without merging.

C <code>git fetch</code> deletes remote branches; <code>git pull</code> creates new branches.

D <code>git fetch</code> uploads your changes to the remote repository; <code>git pull</code> downloads changes.

💡 Hint

Think about which command updates your local files immediately.

git pull downloads and merges remote changes into your current branch automatically. git fetch only downloads changes and requires manual merging.

🚀 Application

expert

What is the output of this Git log command sequence?

Given this sequence of commands and their effects, what will git log --oneline show?

git init
 echo 'A' > file.txt
 git add file.txt
 git commit -m 'Commit A'
 echo 'B' >> file.txt
 git commit -am 'Commit B'
 git reset --soft HEAD~1
 git commit -m 'Commit C'

A Two commits: 'Commit A' and 'Commit C', with 'Commit B' replaced by 'Commit C'.

B Three commits: 'Commit A', 'Commit B', and 'Commit C'.

C One commit: 'Commit C' only.

D Error because <code>git reset --soft</code> requires a branch name.

💡 Hint

Consider what git reset --soft HEAD~1 does to the last commit.

git reset --soft HEAD~1 moves HEAD back one commit but keeps changes staged. The next commit replaces the previous last commit. So the log shows 'Commit A' and 'Commit C'.