"I expect to need exactly the same level of knowledge to work with a DVCS, because I'm editing files." From Git's point of view, you're not editing files; you'

"I expect to need exactly the same level of knowledge to work with a DVCS, because I'm editing files." From Git's point of view, you're not editing files; you're creating patches. Git is fundamentally a tool for constructing, sharing and storing patches. You may disagree that this is the best way to approach version control, but if you accept this philosophy, then Git is remarkably simple and logical. Personally, I feel that treating a version control system like a filesystem is the wrong approach. I'm primarily interested in managing changes to the code, not in tracking chronological changes in individual files.