How to resolve merge conflicts in Git is a crucial question that every webmaster must consider when undertaking a major commit. Git allows webmasters to work with multiple branches in an efficient manner without the risk of merging two independent branches into the main repository. Unfortunately, however, many webmasters fail to take full advantage of the powerful features of this popular repository software. Here are some tips for resolving merge conflicts in Git.
The first step on how to resolve merge conflicts in Git is to understand the nature of the merging conflict. Merging occurs when two developers decide to make changes to the source code repository. They do so by establishing a relationship — either explicitly or by making use of some metadata provided by subversion, the controlling tool for Git. Subversion provides two levels of organization: the shallow and the deep. The deeper level of organization indicates a number of commits made within a short amount of time, the deep level a larger number of commits made over a period of time.
When two users enter the commit state, they are not in the same place in the code repository. This makes the merge process much more difficult. The merge process exists because two users want to maintain different branches of the same repository, with both of these changes applied to the source repository. However, a merge process also exists when two users have committed changes to the repository and yet cannot because of a bug or coding error.
The best way to handle these merge conflicts is to create a temporary branch named “bisect”. The bisect branch will contain a list of commits that match the arguments given to the merge command. If there is a conflict, the merge conflict will be resolved with the first commit identified in the bisect. In addition, if no conflict has been identified, then both commits will be committed to the working tree.
There are several ways how to resolve merge conflicts in Git. One way is to add a staging directory to the repository. The staging area will contain a copy of both the original repository and the temporary branch. Any changes that need to be reviewed can be tracked using the pull request tool.
Another way how to resolve merge conflicts in Git is to determine which commit belongs to which repository. For example, if the merge conflict is due to a typo in the third line of a code fragment, then the corresponding commits will be added to the working tree. The merge conflict will be resolved when any of the commits referred to in the third line are changed. A revert button is provided so any changes that have been made before the button is pressed can be undone.
If you are using the GUI for Git, it is possible to determine the exact authors for all commits contained in the repository. The authors of the files containing the conflicts are listed at the end of each file. You can also search for the name of a single author by using the appropriate key on the GUI. How to resolve merge conflicts in Git rebase is quite easy when the working directory is copied in the remote repository. Just copy the remote repository, create a new commit and add the corresponding authors.
If you don’t know how to resolve merge conflicts in Git, you can check the documentation on the Git website. Once you have read the documentation you should have no problem. However, it is always advisable to seek expert help in case you are not familiar with the various commands used. There are many web tutorials available on the Internet that teach how to resolve a particular problem. They will often be quite comprehensive and answer many questions that you may have.
