**Course Title:** Version Control Systems: Mastering Git **Section Title:** Branching and Merging **Topic:** Create a feature branch, make changes, and merge it back into the main branch.(Lab topic) **Objective:** In this lab topic, you will learn how to create a feature branch, make changes to it, and merge it back into the main branch using Git. This hands-on exercise will help you understand the practical applications of branching and merging in a version control system. **Prerequisites:** Before starting this lab topic, make sure you have a good understanding of the following concepts: * Git basics (init, clone, add, commit, status) * Git directory structure (working directory, staging area, and repository) * Viewing commit history with `git log` * Undoing changes (git checkout, git reset, and git revert) * Understanding branches in Git * Creating and managing branches (git branch, git checkout, git merge) **Lab Exercise:** Create a new Git repository and follow these steps: 1. **Create a main branch**: Create a new Git repository and initialize it with a main branch (usually named `master` or `main`). You can do this by running the following commands: ```bash mkdir myproject cd myproject git init git branch -m master main ``` 2. **Create a feature branch**: Create a new feature branch named `feature/new-feature`. You can do this by running the following command: ```bash git branch feature/new-feature ``` 3. **Switch to the feature branch**: Switch to the feature branch by running the following command: ```bash git checkout feature/new-feature ``` 4. **Make changes to the feature branch**: Make some changes to the feature branch by adding a new file or modifying an existing one. For example, you can create a new file named `feature.txt` and add some text to it: ```bash touch feature.txt echo "This is a new feature" >> feature.txt ``` 5. **Stage and commit changes**: Stage and commit the changes you made to the feature branch by running the following commands: ```bash git add . git commit -m "Added new feature" ``` 6. **Merge the feature branch into the main branch**: Switch back to the main branch and merge the feature branch into it by running the following commands: ```bash git checkout main git merge feature/new-feature ``` **What to Expect:** When you merge the feature branch into the main branch, you should see the changes you made to the feature branch reflected in the main branch. You can verify this by running the following command: ```bash git log ``` This should show you the commit history of the main branch, including the changes you made to the feature branch. **Tips and Variations:** * You can use the `git merge --no-ff` command to force Git to create a new merge commit, even if the merge is a fast-forward. * You can use the `git merge --abort` command to abort a merge if there are conflicts. * You can use the `git merge --continue` command to continue a merge after resolving conflicts. **Best Practices:** * Always create a new branch for each feature or bug fix to keep your code organized and manageable. * Use descriptive branch names to indicate the purpose of the branch. * Regularly merge your feature branches into the main branch to keep your code up-to-date and synchronized. **External Resources:** * Git documentation: [git-scm.com/docs/git-branch](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-branch) * Git documentation: [git-scm.com/docs/git-merge](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-merge) **What's Next:** In the next topic, you will learn about remote repositories and how to work with them using Git. You will learn how to create a remote repository on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, and how to push and pull changes to and from the remote repository. **Leave a Comment/Ask for Help:** If you have any questions or need help with this lab exercise, please leave a comment below. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help us improve this course material.