Github for Beginners
Why Git?
We use Git because it is an amazing structured collaboration process that enables thousands of people to work on projects without central coordination. There is a learning curve but it is worth the effort.
Git is like a central collaboration trunk with a million services that work on top of it.
The first one we use is Github: it's a hosting service for Git repositories.
Gitbooks is another service we use: it turns all the files you see on github.com/enspiral/handbook into the nice browsable, searchable, portable package you can see at handbook.enspiral.com.
Git lingo: issues, repos, pull requests, and merging
Repo is short for repository: in Git, all the files for a project live in a repo.
A Github issue is a public discussion for work-in-progress.
So for instance, when I see something wrong with Loomio, I go to the Loomio repo on Github and say "I found a bug, this thing is broken!" Then we have a discussion about how to fix it. Sometime later someone can propose a fix, and reference the issue, so when the proposal is accepted, the issue gets closed.
In git lingo, the proposal is a pull request and it is accepted by merging in the changes.
Put your new Git skills to good use
Now that you have some Git skills, why don't you try proposing a change to this handbook.
If you have any questions that aren't answered by this guide, you can ask them by creating a new issue.
Practice now:
And a place to practice your new Github skills:
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