Hi All!
This article is mainly focused at someone who is completely new to Software versioning. In this article, we see how Git can be used as a tool for versioning software. Please note that this is very brief. There are many videos/articles that deal in detail.
1) What is Git and why we use it?
Git is a tool that can be used for distributive development of software. What this means is:
Say we have 10 people working on a project. All working on different parts of a software. Now, without a standard and systematic approach, it becomes very hard for developing software. In very simple words, Git is one of the many tools that provide this systematic approach.
2) How do I start using Git?
Git is mainly a command-line based tool. Howvever, there are several GUI based extensions for it as well:
For eg: Git Extensions
So, to get started, please install this. The install procedure is clearly provided in the website.
3) Most commonly used terms:
a) Repository: A collection of files.(simple definition)
b) Clone repository: Take a copy of the files from a server onto your local hard-drive(some local storage
space)
c) Commit: An event, that says "hey i have some changes in my files, i now want to mark it". So, basically a commit is something that you keep as a reference for change.
4)** How do i clone a repository from Github?**
Simple. Open GitExtensions, Commands->Clone Repository->"provide path here"
The path would be something like https://github.com/Daniweb/Dynamic-Array-Library.git Now, place this in the "Repository to clone" path, then click clone. This will get you the files from the repository on a server.
I hope this is enough for a really rough start of using Git(and Github repositories). Please read online for more details about the same.
Also, kindly post questions for clarifications.
Good luck!
