Have you been coding for a little while and are looking to improve your skills further? Whatever stage you’re at, GitHub is a platform you’ll want to get familiar with.

Let’s explore why:

• Learning from the community: Have you ever found yourself stuck on a coding problem, not sure how to proceed? On GitHub, you can find countless projects and code snippets. Seeing how others tackle problems can provide a new perspective and help solve your own coding dilemmas.
• Collaboration: Ever worked on a group project and found it hard to keep track of who did what? GitHub makes teamwork smoother with its collaboration features. You can work with others easily, track changes, and combine everyone’s work seamlessly.
• Building a portfolio: Do you dream of landing a cool job in tech? GitHub can act as your portfolio, showcasing your projects to potential employers. It’s like your public coding diary...

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how developers manage the ever-evolving versions of their software? Think of it like you’re writing a story. You write the first draft, then the second, and so on. Each draft is unique, with its own set of changes, yet all of them are interconnected. Now, what if you wanted to go back to a particular draft to revisit some ideas, or share your drafts with fellow writers for a collaborative masterpiece? This is where version control steps in as your time-traveling companion in the digital domain!

In coding, version control systems (VCSs) are like magical journals that keep a record of every change made to a project. They allow developers to travel back in time to any version of their project, compare different versions, and even merge changes made by different people. It’s like having a superpower that lets you not only undo mistakes but also collaborate...

So, what’s Git?

Imagine a lively digital city where code serves as the foundation and versions act as significant points of reference. In this city, Git acts as your reliable companion, a mystical journal documenting each step of your coding adventure, whether you’re constructing, revising, or occasionally removing code structures:

Figure 1.7 – Git as a lively digital city

Now, why would a developer need such a record?

Imagine working on a digital sculpture, adding pieces, when suddenly, another piece falls off! Panic sets in as you realize that the work you did a day ago is now damaged. Here’s where Git jumps in like a time-traveling machine. With a swift motion, Git turns back the hands of time, and your work is restored!

How does GitHub fit into this journey?

Now, let’s investigate the ecosystem of GitHub, a lively metropolis where developers from every corner of the...

Now it’s time for you to set up your first GitHub account. It’s very easy to create a GitHub account. You can set up your free account by following these simple steps:

1. Go to https://github.com/ and click the Sign up button in the upper-right corner:

Figure 1.10 – GitHub sign-up

2. You will be redirected to the following screen, where you will need to enter your email address and password:

Figure 1.11 – GitHub account creation

3. You will receive a verification email at the address you provided when creating your GitHub account.
4. Click on the link to complete the verification process and creation of the GitHub account.

If you already have an account, then navigate to https://github.com/ and click the Sign in button in the upper-right corner:

Figure 1.12 – GitHub sign-in

Before we dive...

Think of GitHub as a multifunctional toolbox, each tool designed for a specific task in your project repository. Here’s a friendly walkthrough of the main tools you’ll find in this digital toolbox such as Code, Issues, Pull requests, Projects, and so on. You can see how this looks in Figure 1.20:

Figure 1.20 – GitHub’s sections

So, what is the Code section about?

Think of the Code section as the heart of your GitHub project repository. This is where your project lives. It’s like the main folder on your computer where you keep all your project files. It contains all the coding files, documents, and resources you need for your project:

Figure 1.21 – GitHub’s Code section

In the next chapter, Mastering GitHub Essentials, we’ll dive into each aspect of the GitHub Code view. We’ll also explore how to...

This chapter explained how GitHub uses version control, which is like a magic book that lets you see all the changes you’ve made to your code and even undo them if you need to. It keeps everything safe and in good order. It then showed you how to create your own space in GitHub, called a repository, which you can think of as a treasure chest for your coding projects. You’ve learned how to add your code, change it, and share it with others, like showing your artwork to the world.

Next, the chapter talked about how GitHub is great for working with others. It’s like having a big party where everyone shares their coding ideas. This makes coding more fun and creative.

The benefits of using GitHub are pretty cool. You can see how other people solve coding problems, which can help you learn new ways to solve your own. If you make a change and don’t like it, GitHub’s version control lets you go back to how it was before. Additionally, you can...

Check your knowledge earned by reading this chapter with these quiz questions:

1. What does GitHub use to help manage and organize code?
   1. Version control
   2. Spell check
   3. Grammar correction
   4. Auto-formatting

   Answer: A. Version control

2. True or false: GitHub is only used by professional coders.
   1. True
   2. False

   Answer: B. False

3. Fill in the blank: Version control in GitHub is like a _________ that lets you see and undo all your changes.

   Answer: magical time-traveling book

4. Why is version control considered a superpower for coders?

   Answer: It allows coders to track and revert changes easily, keeping their code organized and safe.

5. Which of the following is a key benefit of using GitHub for your code?
   1. It increases file size
   2. It makes code less secure
   3. It helps organize and track changes
   4. All of the above

   Answer: C. It helps organize and track changes

6. True or false: Version control can only track changes in text files.
   1. True
   2. False

   Answer: B. False

7. What is the source of the analogy used in this...