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Development Tools Introduction to Git First Commits Introduction

ludopuig
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ludopuig
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 6,436 Points
Posted by ludopuig
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ludopuig
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 6,436 Points

git vs github

Hi!

I am very interested in learning "version control". I am a beginner user of github where I know the basics for managing my personal projects (push, revert, merge branches).

My question is what will give me git that I don't have in github, which in fact is built on top of it. I am asking just to know if I take the time to go through this course and learn git or github is enough, at least, for my personal (= small) projects.

Thanks!

1 Answer

Pedro Cabral
Pedro Cabral
33,586 Points
Pedro Cabral
Pedro Cabral
33,586 Points

You have your facts the other way around.

Git itself is the version control system/source control management to which all those commands you typed are tied to. You can use git on your own machine without any involvement of GitHub.

GitHub on the other hand is a platform that integrates with git to collaborate and share projects.

I would suggest you learn git first, and only then move to GitHub or any other similar platform. Having the knowledge of how to manage your project via the command-line will further assist you when you do the same actions via a GUI weather that's GitHub or any IDE with built-in support for vcs/scm tools.

ludopuig
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ludopuig
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 6,436 Points
ludopuig
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
ludopuig
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 6,436 Points

Hi Pedro,

Thanks for your answer... I get your point, yet always having internet connection, for github access, and already being able to manage my projects in github makes me wonder whether to invest the time now.

I understand git is the basis for the different platforms, not only github, but if I am only going to use github (at least while learning), what I am loosing if I keep using github without git?

Looking forward!

Jay McGavren
Jay McGavren
Treehouse Teacher
Jay McGavren
Jay McGavren
Treehouse Teacher

ludopuig Now that GitHub supports editing your files via their site, it's true that it's possible to work using only GitHub.

I would say that you absolutely must understand the Git command-line tool before applying for any development jobs. Working via the GitHub site is slower. There are some commands that you can only use from the command line. And the GitHub UI "hides" some information from you; there are Git concepts you can only fully understand once you've used the command line for a while. For these reasons, employers are reluctant to hire people who don't know the command-line tool.

That said, you can use just GitHub for your personal projects. But the sooner you learn the Git command-line tool itself, the better.