How to merge two different branches in Git?

There are two main methods: merge and rebase.

1. Merge

   • Creates a new merge commit that combines changes from both branches.

   • Preserves the change history in chronological order.

   • Can lead to a "noisier" history with many merge commits.

   • Process:

     # Switch to the branch you want to merge into (e.g., master)
     git checkout master
     # Merge the feature_branch into the current branch
     git merge feature_branch
     

2. Rebase

   • "Rewrites" history by moving commits of one branch onto another.

   • Creates a more linear and clean history.

   • Can cause issues when working in a team if the branch has already been published.

   • Process:

     # Switch to the branch you want to rebase (e.g., feature_branch)
     git checkout feature_branch
     # Rebase the feature_branch onto master
     git rebase master
     # Resolve conflicts if any, then continue:
     # git add <conflicted_files>
     # git rebase --continue
     # After a successful rebase, switch to master and do a fast-forward merge
     git checkout master
     git merge feature_branch
     

Choosing between merge and rebase depends on team preferences and repository complexity. Merge is suitable for preserving exact history, while rebase is for creating a cleaner, linear history.