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Bladeroybal edited this page Jan 28, 2015 · 12 revisions

GitHub is a hosting service for Git repositories. It is very popular for its source code management and version control. It is also free for anyone willing to host a public repository, or you can have a private repository for a reasonable cost or by being a student (More details below). With version control, it allows for multiple team members to follow the history of changes to a project and backtrack to previous versions should something bad occur such as an accidental deletion. In addition to the functionality of Git and performance using command line, GitHub also takes advantage of working with a web based graphical interface and a separate downloadable GUI.

The GUI can be downloaded here for WINDOWS and here for MAC.

Due to GitHub's versatility, the repositories can also be accessed through outside GUIs designed for Git. These can be found on the Git website under Windows GUI Clients. Please notice that some of these have additional costs. With a wide variety of choices, finding the right GUI often comes down to personal preference.

If stuck on anything involving GitHub that Google results may not be able to solve, GitHub has an excellent HELP page including Frequently Answered Questions as well as step-by-step instructions on how to properly work many parts of GitHub including setting up a repository, cloning a repository, or forking a repository.

Still stuck? Contact Support!

Adding folders/Files through the website

GitHub's web interface is very user friendly to make quick changes. To add a folder, simply click the "+" after the directory you want it to be in, type the folder name, type a "/" and type your file name you want to add and edit. This gif provided by StackOverflow displays these steps.

Using the GitHub GUI

After downloading, begin by logging into your GitHub account on a page like the one below. If you are having troubles finding this page, click on the COG shape in the top right and choose "Options". Don't forget to fill out the GIT settings with the same information.

After logging in, you'll be able to create new repositories or clone ones you currently are a part of to your computer. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be cloning the ECEN489-Spring2015 repository. Click "Clone" and choose the proper repository. As you can see, I already have it cloned to my computer.

The history of all revisions in that repository are now visible in the middle of the screen. Clicking them provides more information. GitHub does an excellent job of working with many Windows features that Windows users are familiar with. To few all of the files within Windows Explorer, simply right click and choose "Open in Explorer". Files and folders can be drag and dropped from this directory on your computer. You can also open up files you want to edit in IntelliJ, notepad++, or similar editing software from this file location on your computer.

For those more comfortable with Git and command line, choosing "Open in Git Shell" will open up the Git Shell. Git's gui can be open from this using the command "git gui"

For this tutorial, I added a folder and README.md under my "students/bladeroybal" directory using Windows Explorer.

Time to commit my changes! Return to the GitHub Gui and you'll see that there is now a commit option above the "History" column. Enter all the necessary information and click "Commit to Master". If you made changes you didn't like and don't want to commit, right click on "Files to Commit" and choose "Discard" for anything you don't want to upload. After committing, make sure to sync with the server. Click sync in the top right and you are finished. Your changes are now visible on the website in the repository.

GitHub Gist

Announced in 2008, GitHub Gist allows users to create mini repositories for small samples of code. This is very similar to Pastebin and allows people to share and edit small chunks without needing to look at the larger amount of source code. This tool is excellent for getting input when stuck.

GitHub Education

GitHub is very friendly and responsive community that highly encourages students to continue learning how to code. They even began an initiative to help with this movement by providing many free resources to students! This special pack includes free private repositories, software, and many other developer tools.

Helpful Links:

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