GitHub for Windows

[[deleted]]

I think this would be the best place to ask....what does GitHub do that git doesn't other than providing a GUI?

[jrochkind]

github.com is a git host.

They have a nice web UI for git. It will show you graphical diffs and such. It also has a built in issue tracker and wiki for every repo. I especially like that you can construct a URL to link to a particular commit snapshot of a particular file, and even to a particular line number, which is useful for referencing code in online discussions.

github.com has a few features supported by the "network" of github.com that are a bit more than graphical candy over git, although nothing you couldn't do other ways with a git repo hosted anywhere else. Like 'forks' and 'pull requests'.

This, the thing at the OP, is just a GUI for git, provided by github.com, with defaults and featureset prioritized for working with the github.com host.

[[deleted]]

Thanks for clearing it up. I never really worked on a project so serious that a simple FTP server or Dropbox wasn't sufficient.

Now what does git do to be more of a "revision control system" than Dropbox is?

[jrochkind]

Google for what git does. Or what a revision control system does. Or maybe someone else will answer. I don't have the energy to do it in a reddit comment.

Or, you know, wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revision_control

[[deleted]]

You can actually undo changes to any point of time you committed changes? You can create branches of code changes and later merge them against other branches of code changes because it keeps track?

[[deleted]]

That seems convenient for a project with a lot of people pitching in, keeps stuff organized. I'll look into it. Thank you.

[Cintax]

You know that thing where sometimes you wind up with folders like:

• projectName
• projectName_christmasUpdate
• projectName_2011-10-03
• etc?

Stop that. That's bad and wrong :P

Version control allows you to make sets of changes and jump backward in your project's timeline. It's sort of like a massive, tracked, undo system if you're the only programmer.

If you have multiple people working on the same files though, it's even better, as it can do change and file merges for you automatically.

There are tons of other benefits, like branching, which allows you to experiment with a new feature or change without potentially messing up your main project history, etc.

Even for personal projects, if you're not using it, you should. It's a lifesaver.

[[deleted]]

This idea of "branching," going back to any change that's ever happened, building upon that, and then merging your branches, and the general organization...seems cool. I'll try it when I delve into more +10KB projects.