GitHub & Version Control

Avatar for Matthew Matthew 25th October 2019 0 Comments

What is it?

At its core, GitHub is a website and cloud-based service helping developers store and modify their code whilst changes are tracked and stored like a special type of database. This way, if anything goes wrong or a bug arises, developers can role back to previous versions and adjust their code from there. This is called version control, helping developers track and manage changes on the code of a project. The ‘Git’ in GitHub represents a specific open-source version control system, it is also distributed, meaning that a codebase or project is available on each developer’s computer providing the ability for easy branching, typically through the command line interface.

 

Version Control

Essentially, version control helps a developer, or a team of developers, track changes and manage those changes. If it is a large project for example, you can imagine the complexity of the codebase and without version control, you would have a one absolute base without the ability to roll back to previous changes easily. A good example of this is WordPress, an open-source software used to make websites, blogs and apps. If a developer needed to make a change to a component within WordPress, it would be a risky task if directly modifying the source code, so instead, version control allows branching and merging.

Branching is the process of duplicating the source code, that exists within a repository, where the developer can then make changes to the specific code base necessary. Once any changes have been made, the developer can then merge the code into the main source code, making it ‘official.’ Obviously, all these changes are now tracked and can be reverted if it was ever needed.

 

GitHub

Now version control and Git has been explained, it is good to understand how the interface of GitHub works and how to use its version control abilities. Take a look below to see how it works;

  • Repository
    A repository or ‘repo,’ is the base location where all the files for a project are stored, it can have folders and any type of files (HTML, CSS, JS, Images and more).

 

  • Forking a Repo
    ‘Forking’ is the process of creating a new project based on another project that already exists. For example, if you see a project you like and want to make changes to do, you can fork that repository, make any necessary changes you need to and release that project as a new repo. Any changes made to the original repo, such as updates, can then be added to your current fork if needed.

 

  • Pull Request
    After forking a repository and making changes to it, a developer can then pursue a Pull Request for those changes to be included with the initial and official repository of that project, allowing you to be recognised by the original developers. GitHub provides a medium for you and the main projects developers to communicate and decide whether or not it should be included officially.

 

  • Branch
    A branch allows for a developer to work with different versions of a repo at the same time, where you can a default master branch (production) and every branch after that is a copy of the master branch. Creating new branches allows for bugs to be fixed and once it is ready, can be merged back into the master branch.

 

  • Commits
    Any changes made to files in a repository are called commits, which are tracked and allow for a developer to explain what they have done with this code change.

 

The good thing about GitHub is that it is relatively user friendly for people who don’t have much programming or command line knowledge. Its interface is so easy, that it’s even used to store personal projects that aren’t code based, such as books. However, if you’re a developer or have a team of developers working on a project, GitHub makes it easy to track the progress and mitigate any problems that could arise throughout development.

Another major advantage of GitHub is that it can integrate with many common platforms, like Amazon and Google Cloud – allowing for a team of developers within an organisation to work with many different programming languages and platforms.

Wait... Before you go…

We're hosting a FREE WEBINAR on the steps you need to take to avoid failure and how to grow your business using digital marketing.

On the 25th May at 10:00 am

Wait.. Before you go…

We're hosting a FREE WEBINAR on Why HR and Marketing have to run hand-in-hand

On the 6th May at 10:30am

Wait.. Before you go…

We're Crunching the Numbers on the 2021 Budget in our next Webinar!

Interested?

FREE January Content Plan

Writing Social Media posts and blogs can often seem like a mountainous task - our free January Content Plan will help you to take the first steps for the new year.

With our Calendar, you'll be writing Social Media posts like a pro in no time! Plus, check out our blog for monthly tips & Social Ideas.

DOWNLOAD NOW

FREE Marketing Consultation

Our clients tell us that their number one headache isn’t in selling their products or services, recruiting staff or keeping up to date with their industry; it’s the age-old problem of marketing their business!

Whether you need help with marketing planning, web/graphic design, content writing, blogs and social media help, SEO & PPC reviewing or a combination of all of the above, book your FREE no-obligation marketing consultation with Steve now!

BOOK NOW

Our FREE Secret Links

Most agencies won't tell you, but a lot of the tools they use on a day to day basis are actually FREE!

We've put together a handy guide to the free tools we use every day to make our lives easier - and we're giving it to you!

DOWNLOAD NOW

Perfect Blog Post Template

A frequently updated Blog is one of the best ways to create extra content for your website; it also keeps your visitors coming back regularly, attracts new visitors and Google loves fresh content!

But did you know that how you structure your blog post can make all the difference?

Download our FREE Blog Post Template to see how to make your content stand out from the crowd!

FREE BLOG POST TEMPLATE

TikTok Guide

TikTok is a social media channel that is growing very fast. It has more than 3 billion downloads.

As a marketing agency that specialises in social media, we’ve put together our very own TikTok guide for you to use.

FREE HubSpot Consultation

At Square Media we specialise in helping businesses to make the most of their inbound and outbound promotional opportunities – working as a HubSpot CRM Partner we can help you to automate and analyse your business to the nth degree.

Why not let one of our HubSpot experts have a quick chat with you and get you started with a FREE account – no obligation, no pressure and no hard sell tactics (it’s not our style).

BOOK NOW

Image Size Cheat Sheet

When it comes to Social Media, visual content always works better than just text. But it's a bit of a headache keeping on top of all of the sizes you need to use to get the best from each channel.

Download or print our handy Image Size Cheat Sheet and keep it by your keyboard, so you know what size image to use whatever the situation.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Our Marketing Tips Infographic

Considering 2021 has been eventful with new trends and new marketing techniques arising we’ve made 2022 a lot easier for you!

We’ve put together our own marketing tips infographic especially for you to make your new year a little bit less stressful.

Download our FREE infographic here to find all of our best tips and watch your marketing rocket.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Get your Guide to Google Ads!

Everyone knows that SEO is important to any website, but often we forget about the power of paid Google Ads.

It needn't cost the earth, can be targeted well and can bring in business easily from Day 1!

Our FREE downloadable Google Ads Guide will help you to hit the ground running.

DOWNLOAD NOW

5 Killer Marketing Emails!

One of the most valuable tools in your online arsenal is your email/newsletter subscription list, yet it’s one of the ones that is most easy to ignore.

Simply put, if someone has signed up to your email list, they have given you permission to contact them, and how you use the first few emails that you send can be the deciding factor in whether they stay on your list and eventually become a customer, or hit the unsubscribe button so fast that you never get a chance to pitch your business.

So let’s look at 5 killer e-marketing email types, what they do and how to use them!

DOWNLOAD NOW

Start 2022 as you mean to go on!

Every great marketing campaign starts with the basics of getting your brand focused and clear.

Use our free brand guideline template to ensure that your brand is consistent across all of your content!

DOWNLOAD NOW

Christmas fun with Dino Bounce!

It's Christmas Day so let's start with some fun - how far through Dino Bounce can you get?

Don't forget to share your score at the end with the hashtag #dinoBounce (our convenient Twitter button will do this for you)

PLAY NOW