Emily Clarke

What is GitHub Used For?

In the early days of software development and computer programming, coders often worked alone or in small teams that had to find ways to fit various pieces of code together into singular projects. This way of working was time-consuming as it often meant spending long hours reviewing code from other programmers. Merging code into an existing project without reviewing every line could result in all kinds of errors, and if an error occurred, hunting down the offending code could take a very long time.

Although plenty of digital tools have been developed over the years to solve these problems through intra-office collaboration, GitHub has emerged as one of the most popular resources for programmers working in groups. GitHub is a code repository where coders can begin work on a project and share it with the world. Others can contribute to the project, and the pull requests GitHub facilitates allow various contributions to be merged into a single project.

The Open-Source Revolution

GitHub is a favorite among open-source software advocates. Open-source software is software that has no proprietary code. The code is freely accessible, and in many cases, it can be copied and altered to create new software. The open-source movement didn't really kick off until the early 2000s, but open-source software advocates have been in the software development industry for decades.

Because GitHub allows developers to host their code freely for others to use and collaborate on, it's a place where open-source software proponents often seek out inspiration and new projects to work on. As mentioned, the pull requests GitHub facilitates through the site allow multiple branches to be merged into a main project, so amateur coders have the chance to contribute to ongoing open-source projects.

GitHub as a Learning Resource

Many people also view GitHub as a learning resource. Not only is the code on GitHub free to view by anyone, but the site also hosts educational wikis, and users can comment on projects as well. This creates a learning environment for budding programmers and a place where experienced coders can guide the next generation of software development.

Author Resource:-

Emily Clarke writes about the first delivery ops platform, giving teams a better way to deliver software. You can find her thoughts at distribution center blog.