Git (and GitKraken) explained to my grandma
Cause you never known when you’ll need it!
Dear Grandma, I have talked about git before, but maybe I have used too many technical words. So let’s start back from scratch.
Do you remember the days when you used to knit beautiful sweaters, but sometimes you made a mistake and had to unravel the yarn to fix it? Well, imagine if there was a magical yarn that could remember every stitch you made, allowing you to undo any mistake without losing any progress. That’s kind of what Git does for computer programmers!
Once upon a time, in the mystical land of software development, programmers faced a common dilemma: how to collaborate on projects without stepping on each other’s toes. Every time someone made a change to the code, it was like pulling a thread in a sweater — things could quickly unravel into chaos.
Now, imagine Git as a wise old knitting wizard who keeps track of every change made to a project. When a programmer makes a change, Git takes a snapshot of the entire project at that moment and saves it. It’s like taking a Polaroid photo of the sweater after every stitch. This way, if something goes wrong, Git can easily rewind to a previous snapshot and fix the mistake without ruining the entire project.
But wait, there’s more! Git also allows programmers to work on different parts of the project simultaneously without getting tangled up. It does this through “branches,” which are like separate knitting needles. Each branch allows a programmer to experiment with new ideas or fix bugs without affecting the main project. And when they’re happy with their changes, Git helps them weave those branches back into the main project seamlessly.
One of the most magical things about Git is its ability to facilitate collaboration among programmers. With Git, multiple people can work on the same project at the same time without tripping over each other’s feet. Git keeps track of who made what changes and when, making it easy to merge everyone’s contributions together into one cohesive masterpiece.
Now, Grandma, you might be wondering how programmers actually use Git. Well, Git is like a secret language that programmers speak to manage their projects. Instead of clicking buttons and menus like you do on your computer, they use something called the command line.
Imagine the command line as a magic wand that allows programmers to communicate directly with their computers using text commands. With Git, programmers can type commands like “git add” to tell Git which changes they want to save, “git commit” to lock in those changes like sealing an envelope, and “git push” to send their changes to a magical cloud where others can see and work on them too.
Don’t worry, Grandma, it might sound complicated, but with a little practice, anyone can learn to speak the language of Git and wield its powers to create amazing things. Just think of it as another knitting pattern to master!
Now, Grandma, while Git is a powerful tool for managing projects, some folks find its command line interface a bit daunting. That’s where GitKraken comes in — it’s like a friendly knitting helper who takes care of all the complicated stuff for you!
GitKraken is a graphical user interface (GUI) tool for Git, which means you don’t have to type commands into a scary black box — you can simply point and click your way through managing your projects. Here are some of GitKraken’s best features that make it a favorite among programmers:
- Visualize Your Project: GitKraken provides a beautiful and intuitive visual representation of your project’s history. You can see all the branches, commits, and merges as colorful threads weaving together to create your masterpiece. It’s like looking at a digital tapestry of your code!
- Simplified Branching and Merging: With GitKraken, creating and managing branches is as easy as drawing a line on a piece of paper. You can create new branches with a click of a button, merge them together seamlessly, and resolve any conflicts with built-in tools. No more tangled branches or confusing merges — GitKraken takes care of it all.
- Collaboration Made Easy: Just like Git, GitKraken makes collaboration a breeze. You can invite teammates to work on your project, see who’s working on what and even leave comments and annotations. It’s like having a virtual knitting circle where everyone can share ideas and work together to create something beautiful.
- Integrations: You know how sometimes you borrow patterns or share your own with your knitting friends? Well, GitKraken lets programmers do something similar with their code. It connects them to popular places where they store their knitting patterns — like GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, and Bitbucket.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Whether you’re knitting on a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine, GitKraken has got you covered. It’s available on all major operating systems, so you can seamlessly switch between devices without missing a stitch.
So, Grandma, if you ever decide to dip your toes into the world of programming and version control, GitKraken is the perfect knitting companion to help you along the way (and you can sign up straight away: https://www.gitkraken.com/invite/dmpysVFp). And remember, the time you see me furiously typing away at my computer, just remember — I’m knitting with Git! Happy coding!
