DEVELOPER DOCUMENTATION
A practical guide to version control, repository management, collaboration, and publishing your projects with GitHub.
STRUCTURED LEARNING
Follow the lessons in order or jump directly to the topic you need.
Understand what this guide covers.
Explore lessonLearn how Git and GitHub work together.
Explore lessonUnderstand commits, branches and history.
Explore lessonInstall Git and configure your environment.
Explore lessonLearn essential Git vocabulary.
Explore lessonPractice commands used in real projects.
Explore lessonSTART HERE
Welcome to this practical Git and GitHub guide. You will learn how to track changes, organise your work, and publish projects using commands commonly used in software development and data analytics.
Before you begin: Install Git and open a terminal such as Command Prompt, PowerShell, Git Bash, or your editor's integrated terminal.
CORE CONCEPTS
Git is a distributed version control system that runs locally. It tracks file changes and records snapshots called commits.
Local version controlGitHub hosts Git repositories online and provides tools for collaboration, code review, and showcasing projects.
Remote collaborationGit maintains a history of your project. You can review earlier changes, create separate branches for new work, and combine changes when they are ready.
Key concept: Git manages your project's history. GitHub can host the repository so that you can access and share it online.
FOUNDATIONS
A version control system records changes to files over time. It helps teams understand what changed, compare versions, restore previous work, and coordinate development.
| Concept | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Repository | Stores project files and their version history. |
| Commit | Records a snapshot of staged changes. |
| Branch | Supports an independent line of development. |
| Remote | References a repository hosted elsewhere, such as GitHub. |
Other version control systems include Subversion (SVN), CVS, and Perforce. Git is widely used because of its distributed workflow and flexible branching model.
ENVIRONMENT SETUP
Create an account to host repositories and share your portfolio projects.
Visit GitHubConfigure the name and email Git will record in your commits. Use an email address you are comfortable associating with your development work.
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your-email@example.com"Authentication: Use Git Credential Manager or SSH authentication where appropriate. Follow GitHub's official instructions and never commit passwords, tokens, or private keys.
REFERENCE
Use stash when you need to temporarily put aside tracked working-tree changes.
git stashThe pop command reapplies the latest stash and attempts to remove it from the stash list.
git stash popPRACTICAL WORKFLOW
Start with these commands to verify your installation, configure Git, and inspect a repository.
Verify that Git is installed and available.
git --versionSet the author name recorded in your commits.
git config --global user.name "Your Name"Set the email recorded in your commits.
git config --global user.email "your-email@example.com"Display the Git configuration visible to your current setup.
git config --listInspect the current branch and working-tree changes.
git status