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Git is a free and open source distributed version control system. It was designed to be lightweight, easy to learn, and capable to handle projects large and small alike. Git has a small footprint and is very fast.
A version control system records and manages changes to files over time. A version control system will have mechanisms that allow you to see the differences between versions and revert back to earlier versions of files being managed. Generally speaking, most people's idea of version control is to create copies of files and archive them in a series of directories on their file system. This is prone to error as one file copy mistake and you could lose a lot of work by mistake. Also, this method rarely works when multiple people are modifying the same files at the same time.
A Git repository, or repo for short, is a group of files that are tracked as a common project. A Git repository can reside on your computer, but the repository must be hosted on a server if two or more people are going to access the repository. GitHub is the largest online host of Git repositories on the Internet. GitHub also serves as a community for developers. GitHub offers two types of services for user accounts:
- GitHub Free - A free service that provides individuals unlimited public and private repositories.
- GitHub Pro - A paid subscription service that provides individuals additional features for private repositories.
There are other team and Enterprise account options as well. A free GitHub account will more than likely suffice, but as you mature as an individual or adopt Git and GitHub as your organization's distributed version control system and hosting service, you might check out GitHub Pricing at a later time.
Let's explore GitHub and introduce key Git commands and concepts!
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