Why use git and Github?

As new software engineering students, we are constantly instructed to type in specific git commands in our terminal, fork a repository from a Github page, add another student as a collaborator on the project…etc. But what exactly are Github and Git?

Github came to life in 2008, built with Ruby on Rails (what we’re learning at Flatiron!). Its a web-based hosting service that has many additional features and user-friendly interfaces to facilitate collaboration amongst developers and showcasing your work to the community. While git, on the other hand, is a system software (a command line tool) that keeps track of changes in source code during software development. Combined, the two provide a useful set of tools for software development and technical workflow management.

There is no single correct workflow, but for effective teamwork, it’s essential to decide on a consistent one. Not only does this eliminate unnecessary time resolving conflicts amongst the collaborators’ work, but it also provides a clean and comprehensive history of a project. Github certainly did not invent technical workflow management; however, they did create an incredible UI for developers, making workflow management as seamless and as clear as possible.

There are multiple methods and approaches to defining a workflow. It depends on the team structure, size, preferences, and project…