les2.txt

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

It creaters the .git folder that contains metadata concerning previous versions of given files

How is the staging area different from the working directory and the repository?

It's an intermediate level, where the changes to be commited are depicted. A limbo so to say.

What value do you think it offers?

You can divide changes into different commits, thats what.

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

See previous answer.

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

I.e for experimental additions.

How do the diagrams help you visualize the branch structure?

They help to see parent status of different commits.

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

It creates one unitary commit.

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

Pros: less time rewriting code. Cons: cannot see simple logical differences like a person could