In this insight, we look at what GitHub and GitLab are and why they are essential in software development.
GitHub, from GitHub Inc., is a not-for-profit website and cloud-based hosting service for open-source development projects – it is the most prominent open-source host. It helps developers working on software projects to store and manage their code, track and control changes to their code (using Version control), and collaborate on projects.
83 Million Developers Use It
It has been reported that in June this year, GitHub had over 83 million developers using its service and more than 200 million repositories. These included 28 million public repositories. A repository contains all of a user’s project files and each file’s revision history.
There are two-connected elements to GitHub – Git and Version Control:
1. Git
The name ‘Git’ refers to an open-source distributed version control system (VCS) created by Linus Torvalds in 2005, the entire codebase and history available on every developer’s computer. Over 80 per cent of developers use Git, which can be used to work on software projects of any size. This is why it is the most popular version control software and is often used across the scale of start-ups, enterprises, and others.
2. Version Control
Version control/source control refers to software tools that allow developers to track and manage changes to a software project’s code over time. Version control also enhances communication and collaboration between team members and facilitates a continuous, simple way to develop software. It also acts as a safety net to protect source code from irreparable harm, thereby giving the development team the freedom to experiment without fear of causing damage or creating code conflicts.
