I decided to write my first self-directed post about a blog I found regarding Git and its significance in software development. During our course thus far, we have spent quite the amount of time learning Git; more importantly, why it exists and how to use it. This blog summarizes the importance of Git in modern software development. Prior to its creation, there was not a feasible or reliable way to maintain code amongst developers. This led to inefficient workflows and harder collaboration that may have impeded a developer’s ability to contribute effectively to a project. The blog claims that 85% of developers believe that Git’s introduction and adoption have made collaboration much easier than it was before. It later talks about what Git is, how to set it up and some basic use cases. The author writes about some common issues with Git such as merge conflicts and how to integrate it into your IDE. Later on, the article highlights some best practices such as meaningful commit messages or committing small changes, rather than many large changes at once.
For beginners to Git like me, this was useful to reinforce what we have learned in class so far. I chose this resource to learn more about Git outside of class. I had previously heard of Git and GitHub from prior usage of the Internet, though, I had no idea how it was used or how prevalent it would be within the computer science field. Since Git was a newer topic for me and one that I had not touched upon in my 7 years of studying information technology and computer science, I wanted to look more into it outside of class to get a better grasp on it. I feel that after reading this blog, I am more comfortable using Git than I was before. For me, I love to learn new things, and I find that learning something from multiple different angles is often most effective for me. Using this in combination with the lectures and practice from class has been a useful resource for me to improve my Git skills. Within the realm of software development, knowing Git, or at least how version control systems work, is imperative to being successful within the field. Even outside the field, knowing collaboration, effective communication, and teamwork is essential, since computer science is rarely an independent field. I also feel more confident after reading this article, knowing the best practices and common issues that I may run into while working in the field. Overall, this article was extremely effective in expanding my understanding on Git and version control systems.
The link to the article can be found here: https://blog.rheinwerk-computing.com/gits-significance-in-software-development
ZG
From the blog CS@Worcester – zach goddard by Zach Goddard and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.