I'm sure you've come across the terms Git and GitHub and wondered what they are and how they tie into your budding programming journey. Fear not I am here to help. At the end of this post, I'll leave links to two great videos to help you learn how to use Git and GitHub
What is Git
Before we define what Git is, I need you to know something. Git and GitHub are not the same things.
Git is a version control system for tracking changes in any set of files. So what is this version control I'm talking about? Well, Version control, is the practice of tracking and managing changes to files, code, etc. There are other version control systems out there like for example, Apache Subversion and Mercurial. So why are we focusing on Git? Well, Git is the most popular and the most used system in the tech industry right now. Let's talk about some common terms you'll see associated with Git and what they mean in regular English.
1) Repository: Think of this as central storage where everyone goes to store their code. This central storage also helps maintain the file history.
2) Trunk: Think of this as the main folder in the repository where developers add all their code to.
3) commit: Think of this as a process of storing changes from working copy (code you worked on in your computer) to the repository.
4) Branches: Think of this as creating a clone of the Trunk or some other folder.
5) Checkout: This command lets you move between the various branches you created.
Though there are a lot of commands/terms these will give you a basic understanding when learning Git.
What is GitHub
GitHub is a provider of Internet hosting for software development and version control using Git.
Think of GitHub as a giant server that lets you keep and keep track of your repositories and branches. GitHub lets you do things like report issues you find concerning an application, it could even serve as a portfolio for you as a web developer. You can use it to host your portfolio online for free and without much of the hassles that usually come with deploying. GitHub has way too many features to go through in this one post. I just wanted to give you a basic idea of what it was and some of its features.
Learn the basics of Git/GitHub Here
The links provided below are from an amazing developer, Youtuber, and Teacher called Colt Steele.
P.S: These videos were made in 2019 so I would want you to know one simple change that has occurred. In the GitHub video, the term "master" is used. GitHub no longer uses "master" but instead uses the word "main". So anywhere you see "master" just type in "main". Learn Git before GitHub.
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