200-901 Software Development and Design Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  A list of files changed in the last commit

  Why it's wrong here

  'git log --oneline' condenses commit history to one abbreviated hash plus subject line per commit; it does not list changed files. File listings come from 'git show --stat' or 'git log --name-only'. It tempts because commit output often accompanies file changes, but the --oneline flag only alters commit formatting.

• ✗

  The branches and their latest commits

  Why it's wrong here

  Branch listings come from 'git branch -v' or 'git log --branches'; 'git log --oneline' formats the current branch's commit history, not branch tips. It tempts because both display commit hashes and subjects, so the output looks similar, but the underlying revision selection differs.

• ✗

  The differences between the working directory and the last commit

  Why it's wrong here

  Working-directory differences are shown by 'git diff', which compares the index or HEAD against unstaged changes. 'git log --oneline' reads committed history only. It tempts because both surface change information, but diff operates on uncommitted state while log traverses the commit graph.

• ✓

  A summary of each commit on one line

  Why this is correct

  The --oneline flag condenses each commit to its abbreviated SHA-1 hash followed by the commit subject, printing one commit per line. This satisfies the requirement for a compact summary rather than the default multi-line format showing author, date and full message.