GitHub is the most popular platform for version control and collaborative software development. GitHub offers a highly-tooled environment for managing code changes, and collaborating with others.
What Is GitHub
GitHub is a platform that uses the version control system, Git. The GitHub platform helps developers manage and share code with other developers. GitHub has many key characters similar to Git, including:
- Version Control:
- GitHub tracks all changes in the code base and allows developers to revert to previous versions, and merge code without conflict.
- Collaboration:
- GitHub allows multiple developers to work on a project at the same time without overwriting each others changes.
- Open-source collaboration:
- Developers can use GitHub to contribute to millions of open-source projects from other companies and individuals.
Why Is GitHub Important
GitHub is important for all developers for numerous reasons, including:
- Centralized code management:
- GitHub allows developers to store, manage, and share code on the platform. This is especially helpful when working in a group.
- Version Control:
- Every change made to the code is recorded, so if you ever need to go back in time to check when a code was working properly, you can use GitHub. It also shows who made the changes and when they were made.
- Open-source development:
- With GitHub being the platform for millions of open-source projects, you can build on your real-world programming skills by contributing to open-source projects from companies.
- Professional portfolio:
- You can create a portfolio on GitHub that allows you to display your projects and showcase your skills to employers. GitHub also tracks and displays how often you make commits and pushes (we will discuss what this means later in this section).
Conclusion
GitHub is an essential platform for version control and collaboration in software development. The platform offers many powerful tools that will save you time and effort when working on projects, and will offer a layer of protection if your code goes wrong since your projects history is stored on the platform. In this section, we will discuss how to use GitHub and how to create a GitHub portfolio.