You might be familiar with git or GitHub if you’ve done any research or coding practise for WordPress. A lot of new Melbourne web developers may find these tools to be quite helpful, but it can be difficult to understand what they do and how they differ from one another.

Fortunately, you can use git and GitHub to speed up your development process if you are familiar with their features. Even better, you can combine the two and employ them together.

We’ll describe the functions of git and GitHub in this article.

What is Git?

Git is a programme you will use on a regular basis if you are seeking for work as a software or web developer. What then is Git? Git, in essence, enables developers to collaborate and track changes to the files in their projects. Consider the scenario where you were editing some code and saved changes that led to a bug in your project. You can’t alter the code back since you can’t really remember how it used to appear. What do you do now, oh no?

Introducing Git, your version control system. Git operates in the background to store the modifications in a repository, which is a unique kind of database. You can see here who changed what, when, and for what reasons. You commit your modifications to the repository while using Git. Reverting a commit allows you to return to an earlier version of the code. Git is the hero! Git is incredibly quick, open-source, free, and scalable. Although it is the most well-known version control system, there are others as well.

Let’s get into the why. What distinguishes Git from other version control systems, and why is it so superior?

There are two types of version control systems: distributed and centralised.

• Centralized version control systems

In a centralised system, each team member connects to a single server to view and edit the most recent version of the code. The fact that centralised systems are simple to understand is a big plus. Nevertheless, if the server is unavailable, nobody can access the code or modify it.

• Distributed version control systems

With a distributed system, each team member keeps a copy of the project on their personal computer. Users can still communicate with coworkers and work offline even if the service is down. A distributed system is Git.

Git has a longer learning curve as a result, yet the code is kept secure despite this. Most crucially, unlike centralised systems, it lacks a single point of failure.

What is GitHub?

GitHub is a website where users can host their coding projects. You must create an account on GitHub’s website in order to use the service. On GitHub, anyone may register and host a public code repository without charge. Because to this, it is particularly well-liked for open-source projects. Additionally, GitHub offers extra functionality and security for a fee that businesses or projects can pay for.

In addition to hosting coding projects, GitHub offers a wide range of tools. Within a team or organisation, these tools facilitate and secure the development process. As a developer, you’ll primarily use pull requests and code reviews on GitHub.

You can submit your code to the main source via pull requests. A pull request is opened when a feature is complete, acting as a public draught of your code. After then, your coworkers can examine and/or test your code, a process known as a code review. Prior to allowing someone to integrate their new code, it is typical for a project or organisation to demand a code review. Before it is merged into the repository, your coworkers can check your code during a code review to make sure it is secure and effective.

The place where a business keeps all the files and code for a certain project is called a repository, or “repo.” This provides a backup so that the code is never lost and aids in the prevention of defects in the web application.

The Difference Between git and GitHub

Using git for collaboration is made simpler by GitHub. It’s a platform that allows developers to collaborate on the same project and see each other’s changes in real time while holding code repositories in cloud-based storage.

Additionally, it has functionality for managing and organising projects. To keep everyone on task, you may assign tasks to individuals or groups, create permissions and responsibilities for collaborators, and moderate comments.

Also, GitHub repositories are accessible to the whole public. Social coding is the process by which developers from across the world collaborate and alter each other’s code in order to make it better. This effectively transforms GitHub into a professional networking site for web developers.

When it comes to communicating with other developers’ code on GitHub, there are three main options.:

• Fork: The procedure of copying and modifying another’s code from the repository.
• Pull: You can submit a “pull request” to share your finished modifications with the original author of the code.
• Merge: Owners can merge in new improvements to their projects and acknowledge the individuals who recommended them.

This can be a fantastic opportunity to obtain some experience, especially for newer developers who are looking to build up their credentials. You can share projects on your profile on GitHub, and it also maintains track of all the projects you’ve contributed to.

Conclusion

You’ll hear the terms “Git” and “GitHub” a lot when it comes to web development. They will be a crucial component of your flow regardless of whether you are a frontend, backend, or full-stack developer. At first, the terms could appear confusing. What do the terms “pull request, merge, push,” “review,” “fork,” and “repository” even mean? Do not fear; you will rapidly become accustomed to the terminology and come to value these services.

Reviewing the code of your peers not only helps you learn, but it also gives you the power to undo practically anything. the assurance that you won’t sabotage your employer’s product with a poorly written piece of code? Priceless.