# On git and usability

DevFeed: [On git and usability](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/on-git-and-usability-21895.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.nelhage.com/2010/01/on-git-and-usability/>)

Author: Nelson Elhage

Published: 2010-01-18T00:57:31Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Nelson Elhage](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/nelson-elhage.md>)

Topics: [Git](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/git.md>), [Usability](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/usability.md>)

Tags: [complexity](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/complexity.md>), [git](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/git.md>), [merge](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/merge.md>), [remote](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/remote.md>), [usability](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/usability.md>)

## AI overview

The article examines why Git feels difficult for people coming from Subversion. It argues that Git users are expected to understand its data model and make workflow choices such as merging or rebasing, while Subversion users can rely on a smaller set of commands without understanding the underlying system.

## Source excerpt

I've been helping a number of people get started working with git over the last couple of weeks, as Ksplice has brought on some new interns, and we've had to get them up to speed on our internal git repositories. (As you might expect from a bunch of kernel hackers, we use git for absolutely everything). While that experience is what prompted this post, it wasn't really anything I haven't seen before as SIPB transitioned from a group that mostly versioned code in SVN or SVK to one that used git almost exclusively, practically overnight, as these things go.