Git's initial commit

a year ago

Git is described as a 'stupid content tracker' that efficiently manages directory contents.
The name 'git' can have various interpretations, from a simple three-letter combination to a 'global information tracker' or a 'goddamn idiotic truckload of sh*t' when it fails.
Git operates with two main abstractions: the 'object database' and the 'current directory cache'.
The object database is a content-addressable collection of objects, each identified by a SHA1 hash of its content.
Objects in the database are compressed with zlib and include a type tag and size information.
There are several types of objects: 'blob' (binary data), 'tree' (directory structure), and 'changeset' (history of changes).
Changesets introduce the concept of history, linking to parent changesets and including comments, but do not inherently include trust or validity.
Trust in Git comes from external digital signatures, as Git itself only ensures content integrity.
The 'current directory cache' (.dircache/index) is a binary file that efficiently represents the state of a directory at a given time.
The directory cache can regenerate the full state it caches and efficiently find inconsistencies between the cached state and the current state.

Hasty Briefsbeta