GitHub Pull Requests Essentials Quiz Quiz

Assess your understanding of essential concepts and workflows related to pull requests, including creation, review, merging strategies, and conflict resolution. This quiz helps clarify common scenarios and best practices within the GitHub tools ecosystem, supporting efficient collaboration and code quality.

1. Initiating a Pull Request

   When creating a pull request from a feature branch to the main branch, what is the primary purpose of this action in collaborative development?

   1. To suggest and review changes before merging them into the main project
   2. To directly overwrite the main branch with new code
   3. To permanently lock the feature branch
   4. To archive the main branch for future reference

   Explanation: The core function of a pull request is to propose and discuss changes, allowing collaborators to review code before it is merged into important branches. Directly overwriting the main branch bypasses critical review steps and collaboration. Permanently locking a branch is unrelated to pull requests, and archiving is not part of pull request workflows. Only the correct answer promotes teamwork and code quality.

2. Review Process Scenario

   If a reviewer requests changes on your pull request due to coding style inconsistencies, what is the most suitable next step?

   1. Update your branch to address the feedback and push new commits
   2. Abandon the pull request and delete your branch
   3. Merge the pull request without making any changes
   4. Ignore the feedback and close the pull request

   Explanation: The best practice is to make the suggested improvements and push updates to the same branch, ensuring the review process addresses quality concerns. Abandoning or closing the pull request wastes collaborative effort, and merging without changes disregards the review process. Only updating your branch aligns with effective collaboration and code standards.

3. Merging Techniques

   Which merge method creates a new commit on the base branch and keeps all individual commits from the feature branch intact?

   1. Merge commit
   2. Squash merge
   3. Fast-forwad merge
   4. Cherry-pick

   Explanation: A merge commit method combines changes and preserves the full commit history from the feature branch, adding a new commit to record the merge. Squash merge consolidates all commits into one, while fast-forward, spelled here as 'fast-forwad', does not create a merge commit if possible. Cherry-pick applies selected commits rather than merging branches. Only the correct option maintains the full commit lineage.

4. Resolving Merge Conflicts

   What should you do when a pull request cannot be merged automatically because of conflicts with the base branch?

   1. Manually resolve conflicts in your branch, then update the pull request
   2. Close the pull request and do nothing
   3. Attempt to rebase the base branch onto your feature branch
   4. Delete the pull request and create a new one with the same changes

   Explanation: When a pull request is blocked by conflicts, you must resolve them in your branch and push the updates, enabling a clean merge. Closing or deleting the pull request without action leaves the problem unsolved. Rebasing the base onto the feature branch reverses standard merging workflow and can cause confusion. Only manual conflict resolution helps advance the pull request.

5. Review Requirements and Status Checks

   If a repository requires passing status checks and at least one approval before merging, what happens if you try to merge a pull request before these are met?

   1. The platform prevents the merge and notifies about the unmet requirements
   2. The pull request will merge successfully without any checks
   3. The approval is automatically granted and the pull request merges
   4. Status checks are bypassed and only approval is needed

   Explanation: With required status checks and approvals, merges are blocked until all are satisfied, and the user is alerted about any missing prerequisites. Merging without meeting these controls is not permitted, so options two and four are incorrect. Automatic approvals do not occur, so option three is invalid. The correct option ensures quality and compliance in the workflow.