GitHub: what it is, what it is for, how it works
We have heard a lot about it in the past few months, when the Google leak hit the headlines not only in the specialized news, and perhaps it is appropriate to dwell more analytically on what GitHub is. Over the years, this development platform has become the most beloved and widely used digital place to create, share, and collaborate on open source code projects, an open space where multiple professionals can write, design, and review code together, without erasing each other’s work. So let’s set out to discover GitHub, its purpose, how it works, and how useful it is, even for non-developers.
What GitHub is
GitHub is an online platform that allows developers to create, save, manage and share their source code, facilitating collaboration and version control.
It is an environment where programmers can work together, regardless of their geographical location.
It uses Git software, a distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds, and allows developers to track and manage changes without losing crucial information about the status of their project at any time.
However, it is reductive to think of GitHub only as a hosting platform for software projects: the system combines the features of Git with some features unique to social networks, such as the ability to follow other developers, “sneeze” repositories to keep them in check, and collaborate interactively through pull requests and issues. In addition, the platform provides tools for access control, bug tracking, requests for new software features, task management, continuous integration, and wikis for each project.
This is critical for large development teams working on overall complex codebases, but also for individual programmers who want to keep an accurate record of changes.
The features of GitHub
GitHub is thus not just a place to store code, but an indispensable tool that fosters collaboration, project management, and innovation in software development.
A look at the numbers allows us to understand more: the platform is widely used to host open source software development projects. As of January 2023, GitHub claimed to have more than 100 million developers and more than 420 million repositories, including at least 28 million public repositories. As of June 2023, GitHub is the largest source code host in the world.
Thus, GitHub is not just a code management tool, but a true ecosystem that supports collaboration among developers, facilitates workflow and project management, and encourages innovation through knowledge and resource sharing.
In addition to code management, the platform offers a myriad of other features. Pull requests and issue tracking are two main tools that help manage workflow and solve problems: pull requests allow developers to propose changes to code, which can be discussed and reviewed before final integration. Issue tracking, on the other hand, allows tracking of bugs, requests for new features, and discussions.
One of the distinguishing features of GitHub is also its community: millions of developers use the platform to share their work, contributing to open source projects ranging from software libraries to web development frameworks to automation tools. This has turned GitHub into an immense repository of knowledge and innovation, accessible to anyone.
In terms of ease of use, GitHub offers an intuitive web interface and command-line commands, making it accessible to both novice and experienced developers. With GitHub Desktop, an application to manage local repositories, even those less familiar with Git can start using it without too much effort. Finally, the platform also offers the opportunity to integrate with a wide range of other tools and services, such as CI/CD pipelines, monitoring systems and more, making it an essential part of the DevOps workflow.
The purposes of GitHub
The main purpose of GitHub is to facilitate version control and issue tracking in software development through a system of labels, milestones, assignment of responsibilities, and a search engine for issue management.
We can use this service to manage changes to our code and to keep track of any bugs or enhancement requests; it is all based on Git, which allows us to propose and review changes through pull requests. With pull requests, we can view the differences between proposed changes and existing code and approve those changes. The action of confirming and archiving a change is called a commit, and each specific change is a commit. We can see a history of all commits at any time.
GitHub also provides issue tracking tools, such as labels, milestones, and responsibility assignments, which allow us to manage bugs, new feature requests, and other project issues. The internal search engine helps us quickly find specific issues or requested features.
In addition to these main functions, GitHub supports various additional formats and features. We can include documentation with README files that are automatically displayed and written in various Markdown-like formats. Repositories can also contain wikis, which are useful for creating structured content such as “awesome lists,” which are curated collections of recommended software. With GitHub Actions, we can build continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) pipelines to test, release, and deploy software without having to use third-party platforms. GitHub Codespaces offers an online IDE that allows us to work with a virtual machine configured as a working environment to test and develop code.
Other features of GitHub include charts showing contributions, commit frequency and contributors. We can receive email notifications, participate in discussions, and use emoji and task lists nested in files. GitHub supports viewing geospatial data, 3D files, and various image formats, including Photoshop PSDs, as well as offering a PDF document viewer. GitHub also provides security alerts for known vulnerabilities in several packages, helping to keep our code safe. Although public projects on GitHub need not adhere to the Open Source Definition, GitHub allows other users to view and fork our repositories when they are public.
Origins and history of GitHub: when it was born and who invented it
To fully understand the importance of GitHub, it is essential to dive into its history and the motivations behind its creation: this ecosystem was not born overnight, but is the result of a forward-looking vision and the evolution of very real needs in the programming world.
The history of GitHub begins as mentioned with Git, the distributed version control system developed in 2005 by Linus Torvalds, the celebrated creator of the Linux kernel , to address the need for efficient source code management for the Linux project. As Git quickly established itself as one of the most reliable and flexible tools for versioning code, the founders of GitHub saw an opportunity to enhance its usability and collaboration.
And so, between 2007 and 2008 GitHub made its debut on the technology scene, thanks to the ingenuity and collaboration of Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, P. J. Hyett, and Scott Chacon, four developers united by a clear mission: to simplify management and collaboration on software code using Git.
However, the GitHub platform was conceived not just as a simple host for Git repositories, but as a complete ecosystem that integrated social and collaboration features. This allowed developers to more easily interact, compare and co-create. Tom Preston-Werner, one of the co-founders, intended to make Git more accessible to both individual developers and teams, breaking down barriers to entry that might have seemed intimidating to those unfamiliar with command-line tools.
By the end of its first year online in 2009, GitHub was already being used by more than 100,000 users and had accumulated more than 46,000 public repositories, with about 6,200 repositories forked at least once and 4,600 that had been merged.
Why it is called GitHub: the meaning of the name
The name GitHub responds simply but effectively to the platform’s mission.
The word “Git” clearly refers to the version control system created by Torvalds, which is the technological heart of the ecosystem. “Git” is a deliberately ambiguous acronym, which can be interpreted either as a self-deprecating ‘curmudgeon’ in English (in Torvalds’ own words) or as an exceptionally powerful and flexible system for versioning code.
The suffix “Hub” introduces the idea of being a meeting point or center and underscores the platform’s main goal: to serve as a central node for collaboration among developers, a place where new ideas can be shared, discussed, and developed as a community.
GitHub differs from other version control systems precisely because of its emphasis on collaboration and social interaction, offering an environment where code is not only stored and versioned, but also collectively shared and improved.
The platform also has an official mascot named Octocat, a half-cat, half-octopus character who has become a distinctive icon in digital environments. Octocat represents the creativity and versatility that GitHub offers its users: this cute mascot appears in many forms and is used in various illustrations to represent events, tutorials, and other GitHub promotional materials. The cat-polyp figure is easily recognized and loved in the developer community, symbolizing the playful and innovative aspect of the platform. Even, there is a dedicated site that allows one to create a custom version of Octocat, going to configure various details to make an Octocat to one’s taste and desire.
GitHub achievements: famous projects and users
GitHub is currently populated by many prominent users, including renowned technology companies, open source organizations, and individual developers who have contributed significantly to the software development landscape.
Among the best known is Google, which uses GitHub to host major open source projects such as TensorFlow, Kubernetes, and Angular. Microsoft is another key player, not only because it acquired GitHub in 2018, but also because of its many open source projects hosted on the platform, including Visual Studio Code, TypeScript, ASP.NET Core, .NET Core, Windows Calculator, Windows Console, and Windows Terminal. Apple also uses GitHub for the Swift programming language.
The Apache Software Foundation completed the migration of its projects to GitHub in February 2019, bringing with it a large array of major open source projects. Apertium, a well-known machine translation project previously hosted on SourceForge, migrated to GitHub, signaling the growing trend of open source communities moving to this platform for greater visibility and collaboration.
GitHub’s popularity is also evident through notable projects such as Bootstrap, a widely used front-end framework, and Express.js, a web framework for Node.js. Node.js itself, along with its package manager npm, is hosted on GitHub, as is MySQL, the popular relational database management system.
Government agencies such as the National Security Agency andU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also use GitHub, although this is not without controversy because of ethical and political implications.
The broad spectrum of prominent users on GitHub also includes projects such as uBlock Origin, one of the most widely used ad-blockers, and frameworks such as Electron and Atom, initially developed by GitHub itself. Electron, in particular, is a platform for building desktop applications using web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML and CSS, while Atom is a popular text editor. Both projects have had a huge impact in the developer community, demonstrating the importance of GitHub as a creator of tools and platforms as well.
These examples underscore how GitHub has become a central hub for innovation and collaboration in software development, attracting leading projects and a growing number of developers and organizations.
Evolution and impact of GitHub in the digital world
GitHub has experienced impressive growth since its launch in 2008, transforming from a simple Git repository host to a key pillar in the world of software development and DevOps practices.
DevOps practices combine software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to improve the speed and reliability of deployments.
One of the most relevant tools introduced by GitHub to support this need is GitHub Actions, which allows developers to automate workflows for build, test and deployment. With GitHub Actions, custom CI/CD pipelines can be created directly in the repository, reducing configuration time and increasing the efficiency of the development cycle. This eliminates the need to use external tools and facilitates integration and automation of standard operations, especially for distributed teams.
In addition, GitHub has improved code management by offering advanced features for version control, automated merge, and code review tools. These tools are critical for maintaining software quality and facilitating collaboration among large teams, typical of DevOps infrastructures.
GitHub also facilitates complete tracking of the code lifecycle, a crucial aspect of DevOps practices. Every commit, issue and pull request on GitHub can be tracked to provide a detailed record of all changes and their reasons, thus supporting more transparent and accountable project management.
GitHub has also helped consolidate DevOps practices through integration with other tools and platforms. For example, through integrations with cloud services such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), developers can easily configure automated deployment pipelines that cover the entire application lifecycle, from code to cloud.
A turning point in the history of this platform is certainly that of 2018, when Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion, in a transaction that sparked much discussion and speculation.
Despite its many benefits and improvements, Microsoft’s acquisition of GitHub was not without controversy and controversy. Some developers and open source activists have expressed fears about the possibility that Microsoft might negatively affect the platform, considering the company’s conflicting history with the open source community in the 1990s and early 2000s.
An early concern was that Microsoft might use GitHub to take too much control over open source code, or that the platform might undergo changes that would make it less attractive to open source projects. However, Microsoft has tried to overcome these concerns with transparent policies and by continuing to invest in the open source ecosystem. In fact, some of Microsoft’s major modern contributions to open source, such as Visual Studio Code and TypeScript, are hosted on GitHub.
There have also been more specific controversies, such as GitHub’s decision to support the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) government agency, which raised ethical questions and caused some defections among users and developers of the platform.
What GitHub is for: the main features
GitHub is a real Swiss Army knife for developers and software development teams: in addition to being a hosting platform for Git-based projects, it offers a very wide range of tools and features that facilitate workflow, collaboration, and innovation. It therefore becomes critical to understand not only what GitHub does, but also why it has become an indispensable tool in every developer’s toolkit.
While at first glance it might appear to be just a code repository, one only has to dig a little deeper to discover that it is so much more: in fact, GitHub’s core functions cover all phases of the software lifecycle, from version and project management to collaboration, issue tracking, CI/CD, and documentation, making it an indispensable tool for developers of all levels.
In particular, GitHub offers a wide range of features designed to cover various aspects of the software lifecycle: through the use of Git, the platform allows tracking every change made to the code, an essential aspect of managing projects of any size. This continuous tracking allows developers to go back in time to retrieve earlier versions of work, making it easier to resolve errors and conflicts.
In addition to version control, it also integrates various project management features, such as Kanban boards and scheduling tools, which allow teams to organize work, assign tasks and keep the project aligned with deadlines. This type of project management becomes necessary when working on complex initiatives involving many people and numerous parallel activities.
Collaboration is another key pillar of GitHub, which is renowned for its ability to facilitate interaction between developers. Pull requests, for example, allow developers to review and propose changes to code, while merge allows these changes to be integrated into the main project. This review and integration process promotes a more robust and controlled development cycle, ensuring that the code is always of high quality.
GitHub also includes an advanced issue tracking system, which allows teams to track bugs, discuss them, prioritize them, and monitor progress in resolving them; this mechanism for handling issues and feature requests is essential to ensure that nothing is overlooked and projects move forward smoothly.
Integration with third-party Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) tools, such as GitHub Actions, enables automation of build, test, and deployment processes. This automation improves team efficiency and reduces human error margins, allowing developers to focus on more critical and creative tasks.
Finally, GitHub facilitates documentation, an often overlooked but critical aspect of software development. Each repository can include README files, wikis, and other forms of documentation, which make it easier for other developers to understand and use the code. This is useful not only within the team, but also for the open source community, which can contribute to projects in a more informed and effective way.
Why programmers use GitHub
There are multiple reasons why GitHub has become the tool of choice for many developers, and not all of them are purely technology-related. GitHub makes it easy for developers to collaborate effectively and intuitively, which is crucial in any large-scale software project. The platform offers a user-friendly interface that makes all of Git’s features easily accessible, effectively eliminating many of the complexities associated with its use.
Another key reason is the ability to version code easily and robustly. Version control not only protects developers’ work, but also allows them to experiment with new ideas without the risk of damaging the main project. This feature is especially valuable in distributed teams, where multiple people can work on the same project in parallel without fear of insurmountable conflicts.
The tracking features offered by GitHub, such as issues and pull requests, turn this tool into a kind of central command for the project. Issues allow problems to be identified and resolved in a structured way, while pull requests facilitate code review and integration of changes. These tools make GitHub not just a code repository, but a complete platform for software lifecycle management.
In addition, the huge community around GitHub is a huge advantage. Millions of developers share their code, contribute to open source projects, and collaborate on common problems. This contributes to a resource-rich and supportive environment where you can not only find useful packages and libraries, but also receive feedback and help from other experienced developers.
Finally, GitHub is not only useful for those who create code, but also for those who use it. Because of the ease of access and transparency of open source projects, anyone can explore, learn, and contribute. This democratization of access to software has a significant impact on innovation and fosters a culture of sharing and continuous improvement.
Who should use GitHub?
In light of these considerations, who is the platform broadly aimed at and who should know and use it?
Given its flexible and powerful nature, capable of adapting to multiple needs regardless of experience level or project size, GitHub can support both an individual developer who wants to keep track of his or her creations and teams of professionals working on large projects, as well as other and different types of users.
Single developers will find GitHub an ideal tool for storing and managing their code, experimenting with new features, and creating project portfolios. Features such as version control and easy documentation make GitHub a valuable ally for better organizing one’s work and improving professional visibility.
For development teams, GitHub greatly facilitates collaboration through tools such as pull requests and issues. The platform offers project management features that help organize work and keep the project aligned with deadlines. Integration with CI/CD automates many tasks, improving efficiency and reducing errors.
But designers, project managers and others involved in software development can also benefit from using GitHub. Documentation tools and project management features enable more effective communication and better cross-disciplinary collaboration, ensuring that all aspects of the project are well coordinated.
Is GitHub free?
GitHub is available in both free and paid versions, and the choice between a free and paid plan depends on one’s specific needs, team size, and project complexity.
GitHub’s free plans include many of the essential features and are ideal for individual projects, small teams, and open source initiatives. With a free account on GitHub, we can create an unlimited number of public and private repositories, use GitHub Actions for basic automations, and collaborate with other developers.
Paid plans extend the platform’s capabilities: GitHub Pro, GitHub Team, and GitHub Enterprise in particular provide additional storage resources, advanced code review tools, access to custom GitHub Pages, and advanced security features such as static code analysis and vulnerability alerting.
How to use GitHub: a beginner’s guide
At first glance, GitHub might seem like a complex platform with its countless features and tools, but it is actually designed to be accessible even to novices, allowing you to get started quickly and without too many obstacles.
- Creating an account on GitHub
The first step in entering the world of GitHub is to create an account.
Registering is simple and free: to get started, we visit the GitHub site and follow the instructions for creating an account. We need to provide a valid email address, choose a unique username, and set a secure password. Once registration is complete, we will confirm our email address to activate the account and be ready to explore all the features offered by the platform. GitHub offers free plans that are more than enough for most users, especially those who are just starting out; we can always upgrade to a premium plan in the future if and when we need to.
- How to start with a repository
After creating our account, we can immediately start creating a repository, which serves as a repository for our code project in which to store all code related to a project, along with documentation, configuration files, and other related resources.
To create a repository, we access our dashboard and click on the “New” button. We give our repository a relevant name, possibly adding an optional description and choosing whether to make it public or private-as you can easily guess, a public repository is visible to anyone on GitHub, while a private one is accessible only to the user and the people he or she invites. It is useful to initialize the repository with a README file to provide an overview of the project; other optional files during creation are the .gitignore, which specifies which files and directories are to be ignored by Git, and the license, which defines the legal terms under which the code can be used.
Once everything is configured, we click on “Create repository” and we will have our repository ready to be populated with code.
- Using Git for versioning
To make the most of GitHub, it is essential to learn the basics of Git, the version control system on which the platform is based. With Git, we can perform a number of fundamental operations to manage the versioning of our code, such as these basic concepts and dlle most common operations:
- Cloning a repository. After creating a repository on GitHub, it is common to want to clone it to your local computer in order to work offline. This is done using the git clone command [repository URL].
- Make commit. A commit saves changes to the code in the local repository. It is advisable to commit after making any significant changes. The command is git commit -m “commit message.”
- Perform push. After committing changes, we need to send them to the repository on GitHub. This is done with the git push command, which synchronizes the local repository with the remote repository.
- Perform pull. If we work in a team, there are likely to be changes in the remote repository that are not present in the single local repository. Using git pull, we can synchronize the local repository to update it to the latest changes.
- Create and manage branches. Branches are useful for working on new features without interfering with stable code. We can create a new branch using git branch name-branch and switch to an existing branch with git checkout name-branch.
- Merge branches (merge). After working on a new feature, we can merge the development branch to the main branch with the command git merge name-branch.
These commands will allow us to work on new features without affecting the main code, while maintaining an orderly and safe management of our project.
How to create a web page on GitHub
GitHub Pages is a powerful tool that allows us to create and publish static websites directly from our GitHub repositories; this feature offers developers a free and easy way to showcase their projects, create technical blogs, or share documentation.
To use this feature, we must first create a new repository on GitHub by clicking on the “New” button in our dashboard. We give the repository a meaningful name and, if desired, add a description and choose to make the repository public or private as needed (but for the website it will be useful to make it public). During creation, it is useful to include a README file to explain the contents of our project.
Next, we upload our website files to the repository: we can include HTML files, CSS, JavaScript, images and other necessary resources. If we prefer a static framework like Jekyll, we can easily configure it within the repository. We can upload these files directly through the GitHub web interface or use Git to manage the process from the local computer.
Once the files have been uploaded, we go to the Settings section of the repository, scrolling down until we find the GitHub Pages section. Here we can select the branch from which we want to generate the site (usually main or master) and, if necessary, specify a different folder, such as /docs, that contains the website files.
After configuring these settings, GitHub Pages will automatically publish our site. The site will be accessible at a URL such as http://[username].github.io/[nomerepository]. We can further customize our site by choosing from various predefined themes or by adding a _config.yml file if we use a static site generator such as Jekyll.
Finally, we test the site to make sure everything works properly on different devices and browsers. With GitHub Actions we can also automate the build and deployment process, making sure that any changes to our repository are reflected instantly on the published site. We can also configure a GitHub Actions workflow to reduce the time it takes to transfer live updates.
Using GitHub for specific languages and tools.
GitHub is extremely versatile and is well suited to multiple programming languages and development environments, making it an indispensable tool for developers of all kinds. Two of the most common contexts in which GitHub is used are Python projects and integration with Visual Studio.
For Python developers , GitHub provides an ideal platform for managing and sharing projects. With well-structured repositories, it is possible to organize code, track dependencies with files such as requirements.txt, and automate testing with GitHub Actions. The presence of popular open source projects such as TensorFlow and Django on GitHub highlights how much the Python community values and uses the platform to collaborate and innovate.
Microsoft’sVisual Studio is a very powerful integrated development environment (IDE) used by developers on Windows, macOS, and Linux.Integrating GitHub with Visual Studio not only makes the workflow smoother, but also adds power and flexibility to the development process. In particular, GitHub Extension for Visual Studio allows you to clone repositories, create branches and make commits directly from the IDE, without the need to use the command line. This greatly simplifies project management. In addition, tools such as Visual Studio Live Share enable real-time collaboration, improving cooperation among team members.
Is GitHub secure?
Security is a priority for GitHub, which implements advanced security measures to protect code and user information. These measures include encryption of data in transit and at rest, two-factor authentication (2FA), and detailed audit logs to monitor account and repository activity. In addition, GitHub provides security alerts and automatic updates for packages that may contain vulnerabilities, helping developers keep their code secure.
However, ultimate security also depends on the individual practices of each user. It is critical that developers follow security best practices, such as avoiding including sensitive credentials in code, using SSH keys for repository access, and keeping their software and dependencies up-to-date. GitHub offers tools such asAdvanced Security for enterprise accounts that include secret scanning and vulnerability monitoring built into the CI/CD workflow.
GitHub and SEO: how they can interact
Adopting GitHub offers numerous possibilities not only for code management and collaboration, but also for improving online visibility through targeted SEO strategies. However, as with any aspect of digital marketing, there are also risks to consider.
The potential of GitHub goes far beyond just hosting code and also extends to several opportunities to optimize one’s online visibility and drive traffic to websites, blogs, or other digital channels.
First, posting open source projects on GitHub can help raise one’s professional profile: each public repository we create or contribute to is an opportunity to showcase our technical skills, attracting the attention of potential employers, collaborators, or clients. A well-maintained GitHub profile can be considered a dynamic portfolio, constantly updated with new projects and contributions. This not only enhances our reputation, but can also lead to new business opportunities and collaborations.
Second, each repository on GitHub has a dedicated page that can be indexed by search engines such as Google. To take full advantage of this opportunity, it is important to optimize repository descriptions, README files, and related documentation with relevant keywords. Good use of keywords can improve our repository’s ranking in search results, increasing visibility and driving organic traffic to your projects.
Another useful resource for SEO is GitHub Pages, with which we can host static websites directly from our repositories, using the GitHub.io domain or a custom domain. Hosting a website on GitHub Pages allows you to benefit from GitHub’s highdomain authority, which can improve your site’s search engine rankings. This is especially useful for documentation projects, technical blogs or landing pages for applications and services we develop.
Another opportunity is related to internal links and backlinks. Every time a GitHub repository is linked from blog articles, forums, official documentation, etc., a backlink is generated, and thus contributing to popular projects or sharing one’s code effectively can lead to a network of backlinks that improves the overall ranking of the website.
Risks to consider
Despite the undeniable benefits, there are also several risks to consider when using GitHub, especially from a security and reputation management perspective.
One of the main risks concerns code visibility. Publishing code on GitHub, especially in public repositories, means that anyone can access it. This can pose a security risk, especially if the code contains sensitive information, hardcoded credentials, or other vulnerabilities. It is essential to do a thorough review of the code before publishing it to ensure that there is no sensitive data exposed. Similarly, using .gitignore files to exclude specific files and directories from the public version can help keep this information safe.
Project visibility can also have implications for branding. Any errors or vulnerabilities in published code can be easily detected and could damage our professional reputation or that of the organization you work for. Therefore, it is critical to maintain a high standard of quality in the code you share publicly by conducting rigorous quality checks and code reviews.
Another risk to consider is code plagiarism. Publishing open source code on GitHub means granting others the right to use, modify, and redistribute the work, consistent with the license you choose to apply. While this is one of the fundamental principles of open source, it can be frustrating to see your work exploited without proper recognition. Choosing the right license and understanding its legal implications is therefore a crucial step.
Finally, managing external contributions can be a challenge. Accepting contributions from other developers can enrich the project, but it requires a rigorous review process to ensure that proposed changes are safe and of high quality. Establishing clear guidelines for contributions and conducting detailed code reviews can mitigate this risk, ensuring that only high-quality code becomes part of our project.
