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26. Exercise - Committing Changes

Exercise: Committing Changes

Practice making commits with good practices.

Setup

bash
1mkdir commit-practice
2cd commit-practice
3git init
4
5echo "# Commit Practice" > README.md
6git add README.md
7git commit -m "Initial commit"

Exercise 1: Basic Commit

Task

Create a file and commit it with a descriptive message.

Steps

bash
1# Create a file
2echo "function hello() { return 'Hello World'; }" > app.js
3
4# Stage it
5git add app.js
6
7# Commit with descriptive message
8git commit -m "Add hello function to app.js"
9
10# Verify
11git log --oneline

Exercise 2: Commit Multiple Files

Task

Create multiple related files and commit them together.

Steps

bash
1# Create related files
2echo "export function login() {}" > auth.js
3echo "export function logout() {}" >> auth.js
4echo ".auth-container { padding: 20px; }" > auth.css
5echo "<!DOCTYPE html><html>Auth Page</html>" > auth.html
6
7# Stage all auth files
8git add auth.js auth.css auth.html
9
10# Commit together
11git commit -m "Add authentication module with styles and template"
12
13# Verify
14git log --oneline

Exercise 3: Use Commit Types

Task

Make commits using conventional commit types.

Steps

bash
1# Feature commit
2echo "function newFeature() {}" >> app.js
3git add app.js
4git commit -m "feat: Add newFeature function"
5
6# Fix commit
7echo "// Fixed bug" >> app.js
8git add app.js
9git commit -m "fix: Resolve function scope issue"
10
11# Documentation commit
12echo "# App Documentation" > DOCS.md
13git add DOCS.md
14git commit -m "docs: Add initial documentation"
15
16# View history
17git log --oneline

Exercise 4: Amend a Commit

Task

Make a commit, then amend it to add a forgotten file.

Steps

bash
1# Make a commit
2echo "const config = {};" > config.js
3git add config.js
4git commit -m "Add configuration file"
5
6# Oops! Forgot to add the config documentation
7echo "# Configuration Guide" > CONFIG.md
8
9# Add the forgotten file and amend
10git add CONFIG.md
11git commit --amend --no-edit
12
13# Verify the amended commit includes both files
14git show --name-only HEAD

Exercise 5: Fix Commit Message

Task

Make a commit with a typo, then fix it.

Steps

bash
1# Make a commit with typo
2echo "utils" > utils.js
3git add utils.js
4git commit -m "Add utls file"  # Typo!
5
6# Fix the message
7git commit --amend -m "Add utils file"
8
9# Verify
10git log --oneline -1

Exercise 6: Commit All Tracked Files

Task

Use -a flag to commit all modified tracked files.

Steps

bash
1# Modify multiple tracked files
2echo "// Updated" >> app.js
3echo "// Updated" >> auth.js
4echo "// Updated" >> utils.js
5
6# Commit all with -a flag
7git commit -am "Update all JavaScript files with comments"
8
9# Verify
10git log --oneline -1
11git show --name-only HEAD

Exercise 7: View Commit Details

Task

Explore different ways to view commit information.

Steps

bash
1# View full log
2git log
3
4# View compact log
5git log --oneline
6
7# View with stats
8git log --stat
9
10# View specific commit
11git show HEAD
12
13# View only file names in commit
14git show --name-only HEAD
15
16# View last 3 commits
17git log -3 --oneline

Exercise 8: Undo a Commit

Task

Make a commit, then undo it while keeping changes.

Steps

bash
1# Make a commit
2echo "This will be undone" > temp.js
3git add temp.js
4git commit -m "Add temporary file"
5
6# Verify commit exists
7git log --oneline -1
8
9# Undo the commit (keep changes staged)
10git reset --soft HEAD~1
11
12# Verify
13git status
14# Changes to be committed: new file: temp.js
15
16# The commit is gone
17git log --oneline -1

Challenge: Complete Feature Workflow

Task

Simulate developing a feature with multiple commits.

Steps

bash
1# 1. Start feature
2git checkout -b feature/user-profile
3
4# 2. Add model
5echo "class User {}" > models/user.js
6mkdir -p models
7echo "class User {}" > models/user.js
8git add models/
9git commit -m "feat: Add User model"
10
11# 3. Add controller
12mkdir -p controllers
13echo "class UserController {}" > controllers/user.js
14git add controllers/
15git commit -m "feat: Add User controller"
16
17# 4. Add route
18mkdir -p routes
19echo "router.get('/user')" > routes/user.js
20git add routes/
21git commit -m "feat: Add User routes"
22
23# 5. Add tests
24mkdir -p tests
25echo "test('user')" > tests/user.test.js
26git add tests/
27git commit -m "test: Add User tests"
28
29# View the feature commits
30git log --oneline

Self-Check Questions

  1. What flag lets you commit all modified tracked files?
  2. How do you amend the last commit message?
  3. How do you undo a commit but keep the changes?
  4. What makes a good commit message?

Summary

You've practiced:

  • ✅ Making basic commits
  • ✅ Using descriptive messages
  • ✅ Conventional commit types
  • ✅ Amending commits
  • ✅ Viewing commit history
  • ✅ Undoing commits

Great work on committing!