Git 'snapshot' is a complete copy of your files and directories at a specific moment within the Git version control system. This concept is one of the core features that distinguish Git from other version control systems.
When you perform a commit operation in Git, it creates a 'snapshot' that represents the state of the project at that moment. If a file has not changed since the last commit, Git does not save it again but creates a reference to the previously stored file snapshot. Only modified files are stored anew.
Example:
Scenario: Suppose you are developing a website, and your project contains three files:
- index.html
- style.css
- script.js
On the first commit, you add all three files. Git creates snapshots for these files and saves their states.
On the second commit, assume you only modify script.js. At this point, Git creates a new snapshot that includes only the changes to script.js. For index.html and style.css, Git uses the snapshots from the first commit since they have not changed.
Conclusion:
This approach makes Git highly efficient because it stores only the changed parts, not the entire file every time. This not only conserves storage space but also accelerates version control operations.