This post is the second in a series in which I will try to explain how to use Git to write papers, with an audience of professional mathematicians in mind. The first part, which was about why one would want to use Git, is here. Let us now dive into the second part, in which I explain a little what’s going “under the hood” of Git.

While it is not strictly necessary to know all this to use Git, I think that understanding the mechanics helps in actually using it correctly and efficiently. Commands like git push or git pull are actually a bit complex and it is useful to know what words like “commit”, “branch”, “remote”, etc. refer to, especially when there is a conflict between branches.

With online teaching, I have to find ways to make many processes go faster, as otherwise teaching takes an inordinate amount of time compared to traditional teaching (and my salary doesn’t change…). I have already written about automating exam production I’ve now taken to scanning my students' exams and grading them directly on my touchscreen computer. This way I avoid all the issues that come with physical exams: I’m not scared to death of bringing them home anymore – losing them means redoing the whole exam 😨, I have a backup, I can give more detailed feedback to students, give it to them earlier and more often, etc.

This post is the first in a series in which I will try to explain how to use Git to write papers, with an audience of professional mathematicians in mind. I know that there are a lot of material online about learning Git, but as far as I can tell, none are tailored specifically for mathematicians' needs (which differ a bit from programmers' needs). Here, I will try to explain why one would even be interested in Git to begin with.

I have finished translation my notes for my Peccot Lecture to English. They have also been expanded, with a lot more new content. For the time being, you can find the notes here. They have been submitted for publication. I would like to thank again all the people who supported me (see the PDF file for names 😉).

My paper, “Formality of a higher codimensional Swiss-Cheese operad”, has just been accepted for publication in Algebraic & Geometric Topology! I am very grateful to the editorial committee for this, as well as to the anonymous referees who provided many suggestions to improve the paper, especially the exposition.