What happens to a component that is added to the .gitignore file but is later committed on a user story?

When a component is added to the .gitignore file, this instructs Git to ignore any untracked files matching the patterns specified in the .gitignore on further commits. However, if a file or component that has already been committed prior to its inclusion in the .gitignore file is modified or committed again, it behaves differently based on its tracked status.

In this scenario, if a component is already tracked (meaning it has been committed previously) and later added to the .gitignore file, it will continue to be tracked by Git despite the addition to the .gitignore. The .gitignore only affects untracked files. Therefore, if a component is added to the .gitignore file and never committed (thus remaining untracked), subsequent commits won't create it, aligning with the option stating that it will not be created if never committed before.

In contrast, if the file was already committed, it would not be ignored in future commits; Git would still track it even if it is listed in the .gitignore. This underscores how .gitignore works—it does not retroactively affect files that were already being tracked. The correctness of option C hinges on the fact that the component must first exist as an untracked file to be ignored;