Lesson 1: Git

Git Overview

What is Git?

• Git is a software for tracking changes in files.
• Programmers use git to track changes made to code.
• Git synchronizes code between different people.

What is GitHub?

• GitHub is a user interface, or UI, wrapper around Git, much like Spotify is a UI wrapper around music. In these cases, a core technology (Git; music) is wrapped in a graphical user interface (GitHub; Spotify).
• Sites like GitHub host Git repositories, or file systems that are tracked by Git.

Why do we need Git?

• Using Git allows you to save your code online. This means if you ever lose your local files (eg: laptop gets stolen), you still have a copy of your code through Git.
• Git also allows collaborators to concurrently work on the same project, sort of like how Google Docs allows users to edit the same text document online.
• Finally, Git allows you to save “states” of your code, which allows you to revert to a previous state at any point in time.

Git Workflow

Git Basics

Git Setup

• git init: Initializes git within a local directory.
• git remote add origin REPO_PATH: Sets origin of git to repository at REPO_PATH (eg: repo path could be https://github.com/PennSpark/blue.git)
• git status: Check the status of files tracked by Git

Git Workflow

• git add FILENAME: Adds the file FILENAME to the staging area.
• git commit -m "message here": Prepares everything in the staging area into a single “commit”, which you can think of as a wrapper that contains all the changes made to your local files as well as storing metadata such as commit message.
• git push: Pushes all the commits in the staging area to GitHub!

Spark Resources

• Git Slides
• Git Workshop Activity (written by Akshay S.)
• Git Setup Guide (written by Akshay S.)
• Lesson Recording (Spark members only)
• Git Deliverable

Written by Grace J.