Welcome! Come learn about Git and Github.
Git/Github can seem intimidating at first, but don't worry! There can be a steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it is an useful tool that 40 million users use. Use this guide as one of your resources and you'll be on your way on learning Git/Github!
It's a long read so grab some snacks and get comfy!
What is Git and Github? What's the difference between them?
Git
Before you understand what Git is, you'll need to understand what is a version code and control system.
What’s a version control system?
A version control system, or VCS, tracks the history of changes as people and teams collaborate on projects together. As the project evolves, teams can run tests, fix bugs, and contribute new code with the confidence that any version can be recovered at any time. Developers can review project history to find out:
- Which changes were made?
- Who made the changes?
- When were the changes made?
- Why were changes needed?
Here's how atlassian explains version code:
Git is a software available for you to manage changes to your code over time. Version control software keeps track of every modification to the code in a special database. If a mistake is made, developers can turn back the clock and compare earlier versions of the code to help fix the mistake"
The same website explains "What is Git"
Here are some main points from the article:
Why do we use Git?
It is the most widely used modern version control system in the world.
- This is important because that means that if you collaborate with other developers, you'll be able to work within the same system.
- Compared to other alternatives, Git has the performance, security, flexibility that most teams and individuals need. It's the most broadly adopted tool of its kind, which makes that many individuals use it and third party software tools and services are already integrated with Git.
More questions? Check out the full article here!
GitHub
GitHub can be considered a code sharing and publishing service or a social networking site for programmers.
Code sharing and publishing service
Techcrunch describes GitHub as "filing system for every draft of an document".
One of GitHub's best functions is the ability to copy code from another user's account to another. You're able to take a project that you didn't make and modify it under your own account.
Techcrunch describes GitHub as:
The flagship functionality of GitHub is “forking” – copying a repository (the main "folder" where the code is stored) from one user’s account to another. This enables you to take a project that you don’t have write access to and modify it under your own account. If you make changes you’d like to share, you can send a notification called a “pull request” to the original owner. That user can then, with a click of a button, merge the changes found in your repository with the original repository. These three features – fork, pull request and merge – are what make GitHub so powerful.
Before GitHub, you would have to manually download the project's source code, make changes on your own computer and then create a "patch" - which holds your changes and email the patch to the project's head programmer. Then, they would have to evaluate the patch and decide whether to add your changes to the original project.
Networking
GitHub stores all your code where other people can see what you've written and your contributions to other projects. It's like a resume for your code. If your match is accepted, you're able to get credit on the original project, which shows up on your profile.
More questions? Check out the full article here!
Resources
These are the basic concepts behind Git and GitHub. Learn more by going through some more Git and GitHub resources!
You did it!! It's a long read but it's definitely useful. Feel free to refer back to this if you'd like and give any suggestions on topics you'd like us to cover next. Until next time!