GitHub is a website and cloud-based service that helps users to store and manage their code, as well as track and control changes. In this article we’ll explain the basics of source control, vital for software project development in teams.
Every software team needs a good way to manage changes and version code in their codebases. That’s why they use source control tools.
Let’s explore into what source control is and the basics of source control with many different ways to manage your source control on GitHub.
Source Control
Source control refers to tracking and managing changes to code. This ensures that developers are always working on the right version of source code. Source control is important for maintaining a single source source of truth for development teams. Plus, using it helps facilitate collaboration and accelerates release velocity.
That’s because it allows software teams to work on the same codebase. They can commit and merge code without conflicts, and they can even make edits to shared code, without unknowingly overwriting each other’s work.
GitHub as a source control for Visual Studio
GitHub enables users to share code and have access to free source control. GitHub gives users a easier way to use source control with a GUI using Git extensions that enables users to use the Git Source Control Provider add on on the Visual Studio IDE. In order for users to access the GUI, they would need an extension of Git for Windows, Git Extensions and Tortoise Git, that gives users context menu choices in the solution explorer in Visual Studio. That would enable users access on their commit, view pending changes and view of history in your local repository when all or some extension add-ons installed on Visual Studio.
Using GitHub Desktop as your source control repository in Unity
GitHub Desktop is a user friendly way for people to use Git for those working on a game project on Unity game engine. It is normally accessed through a command line interface which could be horrid for newbies and beginners. With GitHub Desktop is powerful for those without much experience with source control. It enables you to reap the benefits of Git source control without the need to learn its intricacies.
Azure Automation Source Control With GitHub
For business and enterprise, with Azure Automation allows the use of source control and the cloud administrator can choose between GitHub, Azure repos using either Git or Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC).
For small Runbooks, the use of the web interface seems reasonable. However, when your script starts getting larger and more professional with a lot of functions and contributors to the code, you need to step up your game and source control is the answer for most of your challenges.
When using source control, the recommendation is to focus on using GitHub as a central repository. All updates in GitHub will be carried to Azure Automation automatically.
Summary
There is many benefits of using Source Control as a software team in an organisation working on larger software projects using GitHub with developer tools and solutions in an more organised manner as more things get added into the codebase overtime and avoids clashes of overwritten codes in the codebase. You may or may not be familiar with Source Control on GitHub. I’d love to hear from you about how source control has benefitted your software development in your team at work or as a business. If you’re just getting started with GitHub, check out our previous posts of our series – Getting Started with GitHub – Free vs Paid Accounts and Getting Started with GitHub – Tips and Tricks, and learn more about GitHub.
