Use Your Targeting Computer, Luke

I use GitX in almost every coding session. GitX behaves like a web browser in one very important way: it won't immediately reflect changes to your repository—you have to hit Cmd+R to tell it to (R)efresh its view. (Since I first wrote this, later forks of GitX have added auto-refresh. I always turn it off.)


It's a great shirt. You know you want one.

You can use this to your advantage. Here's how: when you've done something on the command line, switch back to your visualizer, but don't refresh right away. Instead, try to predict how what you did will change its view. (You can even try drawing out the graph on an index card.) Then, refresh the visualizer and ask yourself: did it change in the way you expected?

If the answer is YES: Congratulations! You just learned something!

If the answer is NO: Congratulations! You're about to learn something!

Repeat this process several thousand times, and eventually you won't need to refer to the visualizer as often. (For those of you who like bad sci-fi movies, think of it as less "Use the force, Luke" and more "Usul no longer needs the weirding module.")