I'm learning how to code and I want to understand what GitHub really is. Is it just some platform to write code, or does it serve other purposes as well?
4 Answers
GitHub is all about version control, making it great for teams working together on code. Even if you're coding solo, it helps. At its core, it lets you snapshot your code changes. If something breaks because of your recent tweaks, you can revert back to an earlier version. It's super handy for keeping things organized and safe.
Think of it as working on a collaborative document where everyone has their own version. You make changes to your code and then upload it (push) to GitHub, where it merges with everyone else's contributions. It's super useful if you need to roll back your code to an earlier version if something goes wrong.
Think of your coding as cooking. Your finished product is like a dish, and GitHub is where you store your recipe. It allows you to track each tweak you make along the way. If you change a recipe (or code) and don't like the revision, you can revert to the previous version. Git is the system for keeping record of all those changes, while GitHub is the space where you can share and access your coding history.
Basically, it's like Google Drive, but specifically for your code. You use Git for version control, like the auto-saves in Google Docs where you can check the editing history. Just remember that you need to manage the versions manually.
Thanks for the clarification! That makes it a lot clearer.