We are going to explain what exactly Github is and what its main features are. It is one of the main platforms for creating open projects of tools and applications, and it is characterized above all by its collaborative functions that help everyone to contribute their bit to improve the code.
As a good repository, the code of the open projects can be downloaded and reviewed by any user, which helps to improve the product and create branches from it. And if you prefer your code not to be seen, private projects can also be created.
What is GitHub
GitHub is a portal created to host the code of any developer’s applications, and it was bought by Microsoft in June 2018. The platform is created so that developers can upload the code of their applications and tools, and as a user, you can not only download the application but also enter their profile to read about it or collaborate with its development.
As the name suggests, the web uses the Git version control system designed by Linus Torvalds. A version management system is one with which developers can manage their projects, ordering the code of each of the new versions that they release of their applications to avoid confusion. Thus, by having copies of each version of your application, the previous states will not be lost when it is time to update.
So Git is one of these control systems, allowing you to compare the code in a file to see the differences between versions, restore old versions if something goes wrong, and merge changes from different versions. It also allows you to work with different branches of a project, such as the development branch to add new functions to the program or the production branch to debug bugs.
The main features of the platform are that it offers the best features of this type of service without losing simplicity, and it is one of the most used in the world by developers. It is cross-platform and has a multitude of user interfaces.
Thus, Github is a portal for managing applications that use the Git system. In addition to allowing you to look at the code and download the different versions of an application, the platform also acts as a social network connecting developers with users so that they can collaborate to improve the application.
What GitHub offers
GitHub allows developers to host projects by creating repositories for free. But you have to keep one thing in mind, and that is that to be able to upload the projects for free, they must be open source. And you don’t want your app to be open source, the platform also has a paid version to host projects privately.
As we mentioned above, on GitHub you can also access other people’s projects and collaborate to improve them. This means that users can give their opinion, leave their comments on the code, collaborate, and contribute to improving the code. They can also report bugs for developers to improve it.
GitHub also offers a series of tools with which to complement the advantages that the Git system already has on its own. For example, you can create a Wiki for each project, so that you can offer all the information about it and write down all the changes from the different versions.
It also has a problem-tracking system, so that other people can make improvements, suggestions, and optimizations in the projects. It also offers a code review tool, so that you can not only look at the source code of a tool, but you can also leave annotations so that its creator or yourself can review them later if it’s your project. Discussions can also be created around these annotations to improve and optimize the code.
In turn, you can find charts to see how developers are working on their projects and forks of the project, seeing the updates made from the first version of the changes that have been made. And finally, social networking features are also included, such as a system to follow your favorite creators and not miss their updates.
When an app takes you to its Github profile to be downloaded, it can sometimes get a bit confusing. At the top right, there is a download button, but this is used to download the code of the application you are reviewing. In case you are looking for an updater, it is best to read and review its main page and the description of the tool, since most of the time the download link is included there.
Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.
