Version Control with Git, 3rd Edition

Chapter 18. Git and GitHub

Since the inception of Git in 2005, we’ve seen the growth of a community of Git-based tools. Today those tools number in the hundreds and come in many forms, from desktop GUIs to Git extensions in popular IDEs. But one stands out in the minds of many developers and even nondevelopers: GitHub.

Many regard the emergence of GitHub in a way that many of us now consider working under the phrase social coding. This concept of working was first applied to open source enterprises, but over the years we have seen this idea of code as a point of geographically distributed collaboration grow even in closed source enterprises. It is not surprising that this trend has led to a transformation in which developers maintain and build software by way of innersource these days.

In this chapter, we focus on how GitHub leverages native Git functionalities, mainly, what to expect when you host your repository on the platform. We start by providing an overview of GitHub as a hosting platform for personal and business accounts. Then we elaborate on how GitHub fits within the Git ecosystem. Next, we dive into specifics around working with your repository in GitHub and navigating its available functionalities, combined with learning how to apply a simple branching strategy and resolving merge conflicts. Before summarizing the chapter, we briefly discuss available methods for extending and integrating with the GitHub platform and how you can practice modern software development ...