Can someone help me understand Git and GitHub?

Have you checked out the official Git site yet? It's a good starting point to learn the basics: https://git-scm.com/learn

Git tracks changes in your code and helps manage versions, which is super useful when things don’t work out. GitHub allows you to manage Git repositories and collaborate with others. While you don’t need GitHub to use Git, it’s common for pushing code online, making collaboration smoother. Once you start coding more, you’ll really appreciate the benefits of using Git. If you're just starting, it's okay to focus on this later; you'll learn faster when the need arises!

For a straightforward option, just read the official Git manual. It's pretty concise and does a great job explaining everything. Here’s the link: https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2

I don’t have any specific recommendations, but I can tell you that Git is a version control tool primarily for tracking changes in code and text files, though it handles many file types too. It runs locally on your PC, often used via a terminal or an editor interface. GitHub, on the other hand, is an online platform that lets you store your Git projects. It integrates nicely with local Git to manage collaborative coding, retain project history, and even offers features like automation and web hosting.

I found that the 'how git works' course on Pluralsight was phenomenal! There’s also a more beginner-friendly course called 'Git: The Big Picture' by the same creator. Definitely worth checking them out if you're starting from scratch.