Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Book review: Pro Git

Pro Git

I've been using both CVS and SVN at work, and never had the chance to try Git. I decided to learn about Git, so I looked for a book. I found Pro Git's homepage, with the book fully readable online, in several languages. We don't often have the chance to read free quality books online, but this one is 100% free. After spending some time on the train enjoying the first three chapters of the book, I decided to buy it. It's well worth it. The author did a great job presenting Git's functionalities, and the major differences with other version control systems.

The main chapters on Git basics and branching are very easy to follow. The author explains all the major commands, showing the command line and the execution result. You can read the book without even trying anything (although I would recommend to download Git and try as much as possible). The chapter on distributed workflows is particularly interesting. It shows you how Git is used in a project, depending on the size (and other factors) of the project. Finally, the author presents the major Git tools, explains how to customize Git, how to use it with Subversion (would you do that?), and how Git works internally, which is very instructive.

The book is thin, and easy to read, so anybody can finish it in a short time. If you want to get started with Git, you can pick up this book without hesitation.

I have one minor complaint : the book size is a bit different from other Apress books I have (may depend on the print ?). It breaks the balance of my beloved book shelf :)

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