GitHub

GitHub is a popular, web-based platform that allows data analysts and developers to store and manage their code and collaborate with others.

GitHub is built on Git, which is a distributed version control system that allows developers to track changes to their code over time and collaborate with others on the same codebase.

With GitHub, developers can create their own repositories, which are essentially folders that contain their code, documentation, and other files related to a specific project. They can also fork other people’s repositories to create their own copies, which they can then modify and contribute back to the original repository. This allows for easy collaboration and code sharing among developers.

GitHub provides tools for developers to manage their code, such as the ability to track and resolve issues, review and merge pull requests, and create and manage branches. It also provides a web-based interface for viewing and editing code, as well as a built-in code editor. Additionally, it has a wide range of integrations and APIs that allow developers to automate various development tasks and integrate with other tools and services.

Sign up for a free account with GitHub.com, a code hosting platform that manages a vast number of programming projects. Follow their website instructions to get started. See the recommendations on GitHub email and username below.

GitHub Email

You’ll need an email. I use a permanent personal email for most GitHub work, rather than a work or school account (which may be temporary). Your email will not be made public.

GitHub Username

You’ll create a GitHub username. Your username will be public. Your username can be anonymous (e.g., ‘analystextraordinaire’) or publicly associated with you. For example, I use ‘denisecase’. Your username will be a part of the URL to all of your projects.

Students New to GitHub

Recruiters may look at GitHub and LinkedIn profiles - it can be helpful to show your skills using modern tools.
Be courageous. The best way to learn is by doing, and don’t be too concerned about making mistakes.
Git mistakes and do-overs are common getting started.
Learning to fix issues is a key skill in data analytics.
Keep and share your latest, most useful, and best work in GitHub.

GitHub Repositories

Each coding project lives in a GitHub repository (called ‘repo’ for short) in the ‘cloud’ (a distributed group of machines).

Git (the system) keeps track of committed changes to an evolving project.
- The GitHub repo can be kept in sync with a git repo on your local machine.
- For example - If a GitHub repo is named datafun-01-getting-started - On my machine, it’s in my Documents/datafun-01-getting-started directory

Quick Quiz

Go to: https://github.com/denisecase/datafun-01-getting-started

Q: What is the username?

Q: What is the repo name in the URL?

Get Started

After you have an account, you can use the Get Started Guide that the GitHub team has created to help you understand the platform.

For more information on getting started on GitHub, view the “Getting Started with GitHub” video below from the GitHub Training & Guides Youtube Channel.

More About GitHub

The following definition of GitHub comes from Kinsta.com

At a high level, GitHub is a website and cloud-based service that helps developers store and manage their code, as well as track and control changes to their code. To understand exactly what GitHub is, you need to know two connected principles: Version control, which helps developers track and manage changes to a software project’s code, and Git, which is a specific open-source version control system.

Learn more about GitHub in the following video from the GitHub YouTube.

Free Stuff For Students

For more fun stuff, check these out.

Like ChatGPT? Check out the AI coding buddy, GitHub Copilot.
More free resources with the GitHub Student Developer Pack https://education.github.com/pack