What is the Difference Between GIT Merge and Rebase

The main difference between GIT Merge and Rebase is that Rebase provides a much cleaner project history than GIT Merge.

GIT is a popular version control system. It allows the developers to work together and maintain their history of work. Furthermore, it is easier to perform branching in Git. A branch is used to create a new feature. After completing that feature, the developer can merge that branch with the master branch and delete that branch. Moreover, after performing a commit, the HEAD is updated with the latest commit. Overall, GIT Merge and Rebase help to integrate changes from one branch on to another.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is GIT Merge
      – Definition, Functionality
2. What is Rebase
     – Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between GIT Merge and Rebase
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

GIT, GIT Merge, Rebase

What is GIT Merge

A developer can merge the master branch into the feature branch by using the following commands. It creates a new “merge commit” in the feature branch. It also connects histories of both branches.

git checkout feature

git merge master

It is also possible to use the following command.

git merge feature master

The command performs a nondestructive operation. It does not change the existing branches. On the other hand, if the master is active, it can affect the feature branch’s history. The git log option helps to reduce this issue. However, it can make it difficult for other developers to understand project history.

What is Rebase

The developer can use rebase to merge the feature branch onto the master branch. The commands are as follows.

git checkout feature

git rebase master

These commands move the entire feature branch to begin on the tip of the master branch. It incorporates all the new commits in master. Furthermore, Rebase rewrites the project history by creating brand new commits for each commit in the original branch.

Rebase eliminates unnecessary commits. Therefore, it provides a cleaner project history. In other words, it maintains a linear project history. The developer can follow the tip of feature and goes to the beginning of the project without any forks. Moreover, it is easier to navigate through the project using commands such as git log and gitk. However, the developer cannot see when the upstream changes were incorporated into the feature.

Difference Between GIT Merge and Rebase

Definition

GIT Merge is a GIT command that allows taking the independent lines of development that git branch created and integrate them into a single branch. On the other hand, Rebase is a GIT command that moves or combines a sequence of commits to a new base commit that provides easy visualization of feature branching workflow. Thus, this is the main difference between GIT Merge and Rebase.

Project history

Besides, Rebase provides a cleaner project history than GIT Merge.

Navigation

Moreover, another difference between GIT Merge and Rebase is that it is easier to navigate through the project in Rebase than in GIT Merge.

Context

In GIT Merge, the developer can see when the upstream changes were incorporated into the feature. On the other hand, in Rebase, the developer cannot see when the upstream changes were incorporated into the feature. Hence, this is also a difference between GIT Merge and Rebase.

Conclusion

In brief, both GIT Merge and Rebase are commands to integrate changes from one branch onto another. The main difference between GIT Merge and Rebase is that Rebase provide much cleaner project history than GIT Merge.

References:

1.Atlassian. “Git Merge | Atlassian Git Tutorial.” Atlassian, Available here.
2.Atlassian. “Git Rebase | Atlassian Git Tutorial.” Atlassian, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1.” Logo for Git” By Jason Long –  (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia