Why Github?

Let’s take a closer look at this open-source code cloud.

Speaking from experience, Github was initially a shock to my already code strained brain. All I saw was a profligate amount of seemingly arbitrary commands to be memorized. Even worse, the commands blend together with no apparent way to differentiate what actually does what you want it to. This of course was my initial reaction, and over the first three-or-so months of working with Github — I saw the beauty in Github’s version control and hosting capabilities.

Github is popular, like 45 million users popular. That’s because its ability to host sites while developers collaborate, debug, and improve code efficiency without actually affecting the software itself or interrupting current users is incredible. Github is also very easily integrated into common platforms like Amazon, Google, Code Climate, and Cloud. It can also recognize syntax in over 200 different programming languages.

So the best of best when it comes to Github features are forking, pull requests, and merging. These features are unanimously favorites amongst Github’s massive user base. Without getting too complicated — pull requests allow project managers to look at your code and mark it for approval. They then merge the forked project to the original code, and voila — you’ve got one example of how Github changed the way developers collaborate.

Another great feature of Github is the community review — everyone can see your code. It’s like a social media site for developers and programmers to share ideas or help each other to write and improve code. You may post your code and get help with some dependency issues you couldn’t see, or even find someone who wants to implement something you wrote.

Open source code has been utilized by a staggering portion of large corporations and entities that wish to have people propose changes or review code and possibly make improvements. It’s also a great tool for development teams to scout talent and find likeminded individuals.

Overall, Github has changed the way the programming world collaborates — and we are loving everything it brings. Even if it initially it was hard for some of us to grab onto.

Cheers,

Luke Siefert