lesson_2_reflections.txt

What happens when you initialize a repository? Why do you need to do it?

	The .git directory is added with the necessary files to track changes

How is the staging area different from the working directory and the repository?
What value do you think it offers?

	The staging area is a place to arrange which files you'd like to add to the
	repository before committing them.
	It offers a confirmation step as a sanity check for which files you'd like to
	add.

How can you use the staging area to make sure you have one commit per logical
change?

	By adding files to the staging area and then using git status, you can reflect
	on the staging area as a whole to ensure that the logical grouping you've
	chosen makes sense before committing. You can also use git diff --staged to
	see specific changes made to each of these files.

What are some situations when branches would be helpful in keeping your history
organized? How would branches help?

	Branches would be useful for a major new experimental feature, a re-design
	or re-architecture of an existing application, or working on two or more 
	potential solutions to a problem in parallel.

How do the diagrams help you visualize the branch structure?

	Without the diagrams, I probably would have had a hard time grasping the
	concept of an unreachable branch. They also made it easier to understand
	reachability in general.

What is the result of merging two branches together? Why do we represent it in
the diagram the way we do?

	The changes from each branch are combined based on which was changed most
	recently. It's represented in the diagram as such because it marks the
	combination of one branch into another, so the branches appear to "merge"
	visually.

What are the pros and cons of Git’s automatic merging vs. always doing merges
manually?

	Pros:
		- No input required for non-conflicting changes
	Cons:
		- Manual input required when there is a conflict
		- No opportunity to sanity-check the merge when there aren't conflicts