Difference between checkout remote branch and pull remote branch in git?

Question

What is the difference between:

git checkout -b <branch> origin/<branch>

and

git pull origin <branch>

They seem to have the same functionality to me. thanks.

Answer 1

git pull contacts the remote repository identified by origin and looks for updates. It fetches any updates and then merges the changes into the target branch. It does not create a new branch.

git checkout -b <branch> origin/<branch> creates a new branch based on origin/<branch>, and does not contact the remote repository. It looks at origin/<branch> as it currently exists in your local repository.

The two commands perform very different actions; spending some quality time with the git-pull and git-checkout man pages might help clarify things.