Introduction to Git

Version control is a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later.

http://git-scm.com/book/en/Getting-Started-About-Version-Control

• Many of us constantly create something, save it, change it, then save it again
• Version (or revision) control is a means of managing this process in a reliable and efficient way
• Especially important when collaborating with others

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revision_control

Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

http://git-scm.com/

• Created by the same people who developed Linux
• The most popular implementation of version control today
• Everything is stored in local repositories on your computer
• Operated from the command line

http://git-scm.com/book/en/Getting-Started-A-Short-History-of-Git

• Go to the following website and click on the download link for your operating system (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc):

http://git-scm.com/downloads

• Once the file is done downloading, open it up to begin the Git installation

• Unless you really know what you are doing, just go with the default options at each step of the installation

• Once the install is complete, hit the "Finish" button (you may want to uncheck the box next to "Review ReleaseNotes.rtf")

• Find a program called Git Bash, which is the command line environment for interacting with Git
• It should be located in the directory into which Git was installed (or, for Windows users, in the Start Menu)

• Once Git Bash opens, you'll see a short welcome message followed by the name of your computer and a dollar sign on the next line
• The dollar sign means that it's your turn to type a command

• Each commit to a Git repository will be "tagged" with the username of the person who made the commit
• Enter the following commands in Git Bash, one at a time, to set your username and email:

$ git config --global user.name "Your Name Here"
$ git config --global user.email "your_email@example.com"

• You'll only have to do this once, but you can always change these down the road using the same commands

• Now type the following to confirm your changes (they may be listed toward the bottom):

$ git config --list

• Go ahead and close Git Bash with following command:

$ exit

• Now that Git is set up on your computer, we're ready to move on to GitHub, which is a web-based platform that lets you do some pretty cool stuff
• Once GitHub is up and running, we'll show you how to start using these tools to your benefit