A commit is a fundamental concept in version control, referring to the action of saving changes to the code into the version control system. These changes are permanently stored in a repository and are given a unique identifier (often a hash value).
A commit typically includes the following elements:
- Changes: The specific code that has been modified, added, or deleted.
- Commit Message: A description of the changes made, helping other developers understand what was changed and why.
- Author: The person who made the changes.
- Timestamp: The date and time when the commit was created.
The purpose of commits is to create a traceable history of changes to a project. This facilitates team collaboration, as all changes are documented and can be reverted or compared if necessary. Commits are a central part of version control systems like Git, Subversion (SVN), and Mercurial.
