Go For Git Today

I can still vividly remember an incident that occurred during my early days of programming, maybe a year or two ago. I had just learned about this awesome PHP framework, Laravel. I was pretty much excited about it and was going to build a great app that properly would change the world using this new technology. I didn’t waste any time building what I thought was an app when everyone seems to be cool with it. I had told them it’s an app that would help curb exam malpractice and impersonation in higher institutions and they all were like “that’s great, get on with it”. Several weeks after I started building this thing, I encountered a huge bug that I couldn’t fix. The only solution I came up with is to start all over again when I had done everything I know without resolving the issue. Two weeks after, there was a power surge that affected the operating system of my machine and that was how I couldn’t find the app’s directory. I couldn’t believe that all I have been doing for the past three months is gone. If only I knew about Git then, I’ll probably not be writing this article now. I may be on next flight to meet with Mark Zuckerberg. Who know!

If you’re a programmer or software developer who doesn’t use Git, you’re like that man wearing an explosive vest that may off at any time. Git can be described as a version control system or a source code management tool. It helps you track changes you’ve made to your project over a period of time. With Git, you can go back in time to see the previous state of your project. You can also recover some files that have deleted from your project. You can make several copies called branches which will not affect the size of your system’s disk. The fun part of Git is that you can push your code to a medium online where others can collaborate with you on the same project. All these are just a tip of the iceberg of what Git can offer you.

The first step to start using GIT is to download and install the software from git-scm.com. Installing and configuring doesn’t mean it will automatically start tracking your files. You have to initiate it in the individual projects you want Git to track by running “git init” at the root folder through the terminal. Git has really made my life easier especially in the on-going boot camp at Andela. I started using Git right from the beginning of the boot camp project, MyDiary. For every block of code I write, I used Git to commit the changes. I even created several branches for the various features of the app as directed by the project’s specifications. Where it excites me the most is that I have my whole project hosted online on github.com. This really saved me on the first day of the boot camp. The boot camp facilitator wanted to review my code and I was unable to access the boot camp’s project on my laptop because the keyboard became faulty. All I did was to send him the link to the hosted version on GitHub. I can’t just imagine what my fate would have been at the boot camp that day if I wasn’t using Git. I would have literally run mad, Git had my back.

I would have loved to tell you more of what Git can do for you but I’m still relatively new to it. The good news is, I’ve been able to do a lot already with the little I know. There are tons of resources online that would do a better job of answering some of the questions you may have concerning this awesome software. You can google Git or read its documentation here. Git is an indispensable tool for programming and it can save you from troubles when used the right way. So I say to you “Go For Git Today!”

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