Git is extremely powerful. I knew that much and that I would really like to thoroughly master it because it is so cool. However, it is quite sophisticated (not to mention that some commands, like checkout and revert designate totally different actions than in Subversion where I am coming from) and like with most things one learns by doing.

One key to doing is the ability to play around with a git repository. The possibility to have an account on github.com and to contribute to a myriad of open source projects there removed that obstacle. The other ingredient to be a master chef is a good guide in the subject. One needs some initial self-confidence to know what he is doing lest he screws up his own work. (Note: that is very hard with git but I remember the panic when I did “git checkout <earlier commit>” and I did not find my earlier HEAD with “git log” )

We may be different but I have not read a really insightful guide albeit I have gone through a dozen of them. Some are too vague or concentrate on one specific task (e.g how to create a repo on github and push to it) and some present too many options and go into details that intimidate the novice. (like the official man pages). Ladies and gentlemen, I have found it. It’s the Git User’s Manual and it strikes the perfect balance between verbosity and shallowness. It gives examples which nicely clarify the concepts. It won’t make you an expert right away, of course, but it provides you with the insight and initial courage to embark on the journey.