As a software developer, you've undoubtedly come across GitHub—perhaps you've used it in the past or currently rely on it for your work. If you're new to the development world, chances are you've been advised that GitHub is a vital tool to have in your arsenal - and rightfully so due to all it has to offer. For those who haven't yet explored GitHub, it can seem daunting at first, but fear not! Once you familiarize yourself with its features, using it will be a breeze, making it one of Android's best apps.

In this guide, we'll delve into this revolutionary platform and explore its capabilities, including how it can simplify your workflow, boost productivity, and make coding more enjoyable. So whether you plan to use your desktop, laptop, or favorite Chromebook, it's time to take your coding to the next level by learning all about how GitHub can help.

Brief history and background of GitHub

Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, and PJ Hyett founded GitHub in 2008. It quickly grew in popularity as a platform for hosting and sharing Git-based code repositories. The founders wanted to create a platform that made it easy for developers to collaborate on code and share their work with the world.

GitHub's combination of useful features made it a huge success. It grew so quickly that Microsoft decided to buy it in 2018 for $7.5 billion, making it one of the year's largest deals. This acquisition demonstrated both Microsoft's dedication to open-source software and GitHub's prominence in the world of software development.

Overall, GitHub has an intriguing history and has played an essential role in the growth and development of the open-source software community. It's no wonder GitHub is such a vital resource for developers around the world.

What exactly is GitHub?

GitHub is a powerful web-based platform that has become a go-to tool for millions of software developers worldwide. It's a cloud-based repository for version control that allows developers to manage their code, collaborate with others, and work on their projects from anywhere. You can join for free, but there are team and business subscription plans that are better suited for larger groups and bigger projects.

Developers can use GitHub to store, share, and work on code together, making it ideal for open-source projects. Its version control system allows developers to track changes to their code and revert to previous versions if necessary, which is critical for maintaining code quality and ensuring proper documentation.

GitHub is also a thriving community where millions of developers share their code and contribute to both open-source and closed-source projects. The community-driven approach has led to the creation of thousands of innovative projects that are changing the world of software development.

GitHub offers a range of tools and features that make it easy for developers to collaborate, communicate with each other, and streamline their workflows. You can create issues, assign tasks, and discuss projects with other team members. It also integrates with third-party tools such as Slack, Jira, ZenHub, Trello, and Google Collab (a web-based development tool that lets you write and run Python code).

When starting out as a software developer, it can be difficult to know what resources to invest in for things like code management, version control, and team collaboration. As you can see, GitHub is one of the best options because it integrates the most useful and valuable features of other platforms into a unified, cutting-edge platform. Plus, it has a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate.

What are Git and version control?

Version control is an essential process for software developers to manage changes made to their code over time, especially when working on complex projects with multiple contributors. This is where GitHub comes in handy, using a version control system called Git to help developers manage their code repositories.

With Git, developers can track every change made to their code, revert to previous versions, and collaborate with others on the same codebase. This ensures that everyone on the team is on the same page, and it's easy to see who made what changes and when. Git also makes it easy to merge changes made in separate branches back into the main codebase.

For instance, let's say you're working on a project with a group of people. You can use GitHub to keep track of changes made by each team member and merge those changes together into a final version of the code. If someone makes a mistake or changes something that doesn't work, you can use version control to roll back to a previous version of the code and fix the issue.

Developers can also create separate branches of code to work on different features or fixes without affecting the main codebase. This ensures that you won't mess up the main code or cause issues that will affect all of their users. GitHub's version control system is a truly invaluable feature that ensures you won't mess up your code, but if you do, you'll have a backup if something does happen to go wrong.

Other key features of GitHub

While all of GitHub’s amazing features could fill up a book, here are some of the most important components and features you should know about.

Dashboard

When you log in to GitHub, you'll see your dashboard. It's a personalized page that shows your repositories, updates from GitHub, and the activity of other users you follow. You can also quickly create new repositories, join organizations, and view pull requests from your dashboard.

Repositories

Repositories are the heart of GitHub. Repositories are where you store all your project files, including code, documentation, and other files. You can create a new public or private repository, manage its settings, and collaborate with others, much like Google Workspace. Other users can even clone, fork, or download your repositories.

Issue Tracking

The issue-tracking system is a robust way to track and manage bugs, feature requests, and other tasks related to your projects. They're like a to-do list for your repository, and you can assign them to different users, label them, and organize them into milestones. Issues help you keep track of what needs to be done and who's responsible for it.

Wiki

A wiki is a place where you can create and edit documentation for your repository. It can be used to store project guidelines, user manuals, and other relevant information. GitHub's wiki is built on top of a Git repository, which means that you can track changes to your wiki pages just like you would with code.

Branching

GitHub's branching feature allows developers to create separate branches of code for experimentation or to work on different features or bug fixes. This is essential for teams working on larger projects, as it allows developers to work on different aspects of the project without interfering with one another's code.

Pull Requests

A pull request is a way to propose changes to a repository. It's used when a user wants to contribute to a project when they don't have write access. The user can create a branch with their changes and then submit a pull request, which can then be reviewed and merged into the main branch by the repository owner.

Pull requests also let developers suggest changes to code and have those changes reviewed by other team members before they are merged into the main codebase. This ensures that changes are thoroughly tested and reviewed before being merged.

Code Reviews

GitHub's code review feature allows developers to review changes to code made by other team members. Code reviews help ensure that code is high quality, well-tested, and meets the team's standards.

Time to join in on the fun

GitHub is a game-changing platform that has transformed the way developers work together on projects. Its user-friendly interface, powerful collaboration tools, and version control system make it an essential tool for developers of all levels. It's not just an easy way to manage your code and collaborate with others; it's a chance to show off your hard work to the world and get valuable feedback.

With GitHub, the possibilities are endless, making it a must-have tool for anyone who creates software or is pursuing a career in software development. It's a constant-growing, vibrant community of developers who are changing the world, one line of code at a time. There's no better time to join now that you know more about it.