Chapter 1. Introduction
In this chapter we’ll start by introducing Git and GitHub. What are they, what is the difference between them, and why would you want to use them? We’ll then introduce some other common terms that you’ll often hear mentioned when people are discussing GitHub. That way you’ll be able to understand and participate in discussions about your projects more easily.
What Is Git?
Git is a version control system. A version control system is a piece of software designed to keep track of the changes made to files over time. More specifically, Git is a distributed version control system, which means that everyone working with a project in Git has a copy of the full history of the project, not just the current state of the files.
What Is GitHub?
GitHub is a website where you can upload a copy of your Git repository. It allows you to collaborate much more easily with other people on a project. It does that by providing a centralized location to share the repository, a web-based interface to view it, and features like forking, pull requests, issues, and wikis, which allow you to specify, discuss, and review changes with your team more effectively.
Why Use Git?
Even if you’re working on your own, if you are editing text files, there are a number of benefits to using Git. Those benefits include the following:
- The ability to undo changes
- If you make a mistake, you can go back to a previous point in time to recover an earlier version of your work.
- A complete history ...