Unleashing the Full Potential of GitHub for Developers

Open-source development has opened up a new way to collaboratively create software, where users can work together towards a common goal. Open-source is like a giant whiteboard where developers can pitch in their ideas in the form of code for a project. The biggest advantage of open-source is the transparency of the code, which allows anyone in the world to identify errors and contribute different ideas. As open-source development progressed, a collaborative software company emerged, which incorporated features such as version control and many others. In 2008, GitHub was launched with the intention of simplifying open-source development. It offers features like bug tracking, task management, and continuous integration for the general public.

GitHub is extremely useful for the developer community, providing access to open-source modules and libraries, as well as enabling users to get help from some of the world's top developers. The world's top organisations also use GitHub for team collaboration. GitHub is now owned by Microsoft, and Fortune 500 companies all have accounts on GitHub, with many resources available to the public to collaborate and help with issue solving. GitHub offers both public and private repositories, making it a versatile platform. For companies that require assistance, their repositories can be made public, while others can remain private.

Lets start with same basic terminology about GitHub

1. Repository — A repository is a folder created on an individual’s GitHub account where all code files stay. Edits, Deletions and Additions are all made to this folder present of GitHub. A repository can often be stored on GitHub and on a local device where changes can be made locally and be pushed to GitHub. A repository is the core in which all other terminologies are developed. When collaborating to GitHub, The decision of whether to accept a change or no lands in the hands of the owner of the repository. A repository can be of two possible types Public Repository — Anyone can access and collaborate to the repository. Private Repository — Only a selected group of people can collaborate to it.
2. Commit — When a repository already exists and some sort of change is made to it, The action of pushing the change to the repository is called a Commit. Whenever committing it’s very important to write a commit heading and a commit message. Commits can be made locally and then pushed to GitHub or changes can be pushed over the air using Code-spaces.
3. Contributions — A commit to any repository be it a personal repository or an organisation’s repository is called a Contributions. Contributions make GitHub very interesting and competitive. GitHub has a frame of white tiles which get filled in every time a person commits somewhere.
4. Pull Requests — GitHub Pull Requests are a collaborative feature that allows developers to propose changes to a repository, review those changes with other contributors, and merge the changes into the main branch after approval.
5. GitHub Desktop — GitHub desktop is a downloadable software provided by GitHub which acts as the client to push all the changes to GitHub.
6. Readme — A Readme is a file in a GitHub repository that provides essential information about the project. It includes details on installation, usage, features, and contributing guidelines. A well-written Readme can help users and developers understand the purpose and scope of the project, and encourage collaboration and contribution from the community.

GitHub offers multiple features that make it a developer's best friend. When developing a large-scale project, a team of developers is involved, and GitHub makes team management and collaboration easier with features like version control and multiple team collaboration networks. For students pursuing computer science, GitHub is particularly useful as it offers insights on how a large-scale project works, providing a run-through of all the development stages. GitHub can also be used as a platform to display projects to potential employers, giving students an advantage over peers who only have projects on paper with no written code available. However, the vast availability of code and projects on GitHub can also be disadvantageous, as students may be tempted to copy projects from GitHub and submit them as part of their internal assessment, which could lead to plagiarism issues.

There are multiple services that make GitHub worth understanding and learning. These services are bundled with GitHub and need to be activated by the owner of the repository.

1. GitHub Repository Hosting (GitHub Pages) - Using GitHub pages a user can deploy a website just with a click using GitHub pages. GitHub pages and repository hosting have a bit of difference while GitHub pages deploy it through GitHub while repository based hosting requires an external DNS server. This also gives a continuous deployment environment as the build changes after every commit. The hyperlink created by GitHub has its branding to get rid of that a domain needs to be purchased by the developer.
2. Data Insights and Analytics - Analysing code and getting insights of code is very important part of developing. When in a large team using data insights, We can get an overview of who’s contributing. We can get an overall gist of how many additions and deletions are there in a project. Hence getting an overall gist of the project is very simple when dealing with the stakeholders of the project.
3. Workflows - GitHub workflows are very useful when dealing with reviewing code. GitHub workflows are a sort of continuous integration they work from build to build. Workflow work continuously in the background they are triggered after every commit is pushed. GitHub workflows run only on pushed commits on the air.
4. Wikis - Github wikis are a collaborative tool used by developers to document their projects. Wikis allow contributors to create and edit pages, share information, and provide guidance on how to use the code. This feature provides an efficient way to manage project documentation and improve communication between team members.

Here are some key user base statistics for GitHub as of 2021:

1. Over 73 million repositories hosted on GitHub
2. Over 56 million developers on GitHub
3. Over 1.9 billion contributions made to GitHub repositories
4. Over 72% of Fortune 50 companies use GitHub
5. Over 31 million public repositories on GitHub
6. Over 2.9 million organisations on GitHub
7. Over 37 million pull requests made on GitHub
8. Over 100 million code reviews conducted on GitHub

GitHub's user base is diverse and includes developers, organisations, and individual users from all over the world. The platform's popularity has made it an integral part of the software development ecosystem and a hub for collaboration and community building

Using GitHub can demonstrate a student's regularity and consistent development, which many companies consider essential. While the specifics of what a student has developed may not be as crucial as their reliability in coding and development, consistency is a crucial aspect of the software development process. The field of technology and coding techniques is constantly evolving, and GitHub provides a means to stay up-to-date with these changes. Collaborative community apps such as GitHub allow developers to seek assistance when they encounter errors or bugs that they cannot solve independently. Other similar apps, such as GitLab, BitBucket, and AWS CodeCommit, operate similarly to GitHub but offer various advantages and disadvantages.

GitHub is more than just a code repository, It's a community of developers, a place of solidarity. From open-source projects to enterprise solutions, It provides the platform to share our contributions. With version control, we can track our changes, And pull requests make collaboration seamless. Issues allow us to report and track our bugs, And wikis help us share knowledge with hugs. GitHub's ecosystem is vast and diverse, It empowers us to build without any curse. Whether you're a newbie or a coding pro, GitHub has everything you need to grow.

So here's to GitHub, our developers' best friend, May its platform keep evolving till the end. As we continue to build, learn and explore, GitHub will always be our code's open door.