Benefits of using Github

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If you are in a software development industry, then, most likely you have heard about GitHub, a repository hosting service for Git that also has a web-based graphical interface. Today, I would like to discuss it and mention key benefits you get from using Github.

GitHub, can be divided into the Git, and the Hub. The service includes access controls as well as a number of collaboration features like tools for basic task management and for all projects you handle. GitHub hosts your source code projects in a variety of different programming languages and keeps track of the various changes made to every iteration. So, the “Git” implies the version control system; a tool which allows developers to keep track of the constant revisions to their code. The “Hub” is the community of like-minded individuals who participate. It is all about the collaborative effort of the community, in reviewing, improving, and deriving new ideas from the uploaded code. It’s definitely something worth looking into!

So what are the main benefits of using GitHub?

1. It makes it easy to contribute to your open source projects

To be honest, nearly every open-source project uses GitHub to manage their project. Using GitHub is free if your project is open source and includes a wiki and issue tracker that makes it easy to include more in-depth documentation and get feedback about your project. If you want to contribute, you just fork a project, make your changes and then send them a pull request using GitHub web interface.

2. Documentation

By using GitHub, you make it easier to get excellent documentation. Their help section and guides have articles for nearly any topic related to git that you can think of.

3. Showcase your work

Are you a developer and wishes to attract recruiters? GitHub is the best tool you can rely on for this. Today, when searching for new recruits for their project, most companies look into the GitHub profiles. If your profile is available, you will have a higher chance of being recruited even if you are not from a great university or college.

4. Markdown

Markdown allows you to use a simple text editor to write formatted documents. GitHub has revolutionized writing by channeling everything through Markdown: from the issue tracker, user comments, everything. With so many other programming languages to learn for setting up projects, it’s really a big benefit to have your content inputted in a format without having to learn yet another system.

5. GitHub is a repository

This was already mentioned before, but it’s important to note, GitHub is a repository.

What this means that it allows your work to get out there in front of the public. Moreover, GitHub is one of the largest coding communities around right now, so it’s wide exposure for your project.

6. Track changes in your code across versions

When multiple people collaborate on a project, it’s hard to keep track revisions—who changed what, when, and where those files are stored. GitHub takes care of this problem by keeping track of all the changes that have been pushed to the repository. Much like using Microsoft Word or Google Drive, you can have a version history of your code so that previous versions are not lost with every iteration.

7. Integration options

GitHub can integrate with common platforms such as Amazon and Google Cloud, services such as Code Climate to track your feedback, and can highlight syntax in over 200 different programming languages.

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