Source Control Management

Ever make changes that broke your code and forgot how it was working before? Want to work together with someone on a code project, but aren't sure who has the latest version of a particular file? Revision control can solve these and other problems!

Keeping track of changes that you make to your code can make it easier to work in a development team and help you be a better developer. Git is a popular revision control application that can track your code changes. This session will introduce the basics of revision control, including a mental model for how a conventional “revision control” system based on filenames translates to one that uses revision control software. We’ll look at how to use git to keep track of your changes to a project and use it to collaborate with other developers.

In this 2.5 hour class you will:

Learn the basic concepts of version control Discover the differences between git and other version control software Use fundamental git commands to track changes to a small project Cover the basics of collaborating on code from other developers Learn how to use Github Find uses for centralized git services Prerequisites:

This class will not use actual code for practice, so no coding skills are required.

A willingness to use the command line to execute commands is necessary. A laptop pre-installed with command-line git. Simple installers for git on any platform can be found at http://git-scm.com/downloads (Be sure to install the command-line version and not the GUI client for your platform using all of the default settings). After installation, you should be able to type “git” at a new command or terminal prompt and see a list of git’s options. A free Github (http://www.github.com) trial. You are welcome to show up an early hour for installation help if you would like.

About the teacher:

Owen started coding at age eight and even then knew that it was his calling. After a 10+ year stint as a commercial desktop application developer in the oil industry, he turned to using his code knowledge for good by contributing to open source projects such as WordPress. As one of the founders of the Habari Project (http://habariproject.org/en/), he helps coders gain collaborative experience via open source. Owen now applies this cumulative coding and management experience in his internet consultancy, Critical Hit (http://criticalhit.us/). In his spare time, Owen brews beer and teaches his two kids to play euro-style board games. You can find him on Twitter at @ringmaster (http://www.twitter.com/ringmaster).