Version Control & Collaboration Flashcards

Which Git branching strategy uses two long-lived branches — 'main' and 'develop' — along with supporting feature, release, and hotfix branches?

Answer: Gitflow

Gitflow, introduced by Vincent Driessen, defines two permanent branches (main and develop) plus temporary supporting branches for features, releases, and hotfixes.

In Trunk-Based Development, how frequently should developers integrate their changes into the main branch?

Answer: At least once per day

Trunk-Based Development requires developers to commit small, incremental changes to the trunk (main branch) at least once per day to minimize integration pain.

What is the primary purpose of a pull request (PR) in a collaborative Git workflow?

Answer: To propose and review changes before merging into a target branch

A pull request is a collaboration mechanism that allows developers to propose changes, discuss them, request reviews, and merge code only after approval.

Which Git command is used to apply a specific commit from one branch onto another branch without merging the entire branch history?

Answer: git cherry-pick

git cherry-pick applies the changes introduced by an existing commit onto the current branch, allowing selective porting of individual commits.

What does 'git rebase' do compared to 'git merge' when integrating changes from a feature branch?

Answer: Rebase rewrites commit history to produce a linear history; merge preserves divergent history with a merge commit

git rebase replays commits on top of a new base, producing a linear history, whereas git merge creates an explicit merge commit that shows where branches joined.

Which practice ensures that secrets and credentials are never committed to a Git repository?

Answer: Storing secrets in environment variables and using .gitignore for secret files

Environment variables and .gitignore rules prevent sensitive files from being tracked, while tools like git-secrets or pre-commit hooks enforce this policy automatically.

What is a 'protected branch' in platforms like GitHub or GitLab?

Answer: A branch with restrictions preventing direct pushes or requiring status checks and reviews before merging

Protected branches enforce policies such as requiring pull request reviews, passing CI checks, and disallowing force pushes, safeguarding critical branches like main.