Sure, git is just a Merkle tree of snapshots. On the other hand, it is easy to get confused. For example, someone might add something to the index and then swi

Sure, git is just a Merkle tree of snapshots. On the other hand, it is easy to get confused. For example, someone might add something to the index and then switch to a different branch. Now he wonders why the index looks weird. Of course the experienced dev understands that the index contains a snapshot instead of a diff. I still believe that the index is accidental complexity and not necessary at all.