Biology 824 Assignment Week 3- Version Control with Git and Github

Here are some FAQs about Github!

When should you use Git for a project?

Github is a version control system. This has a number of awesome benefits for your project!

Github can track every change you make to a file, so you can always go back to look at all your steps. Similarly, if you make a mistake and ruin your work, you can always go back to old versions!
Github allows you to merge files with collaborators. Multiple people may work on a project at once, with a record of every change made by every person!

Github is great for solo workers and big teams- both will benefit from the tracked changes, and the team will benefit from easy collaboration!

What kind of files/info should be saved in a Git repository? What types of files/info should not be included in a Git repo?

Github is great for:

Text files- such as a big document that needs multiple edits, perhaps from multiple people!
Code- again, that might need several rounds of editing and perfecting!

However, Github cannot store large files, such as a huge dataset. Also, don’t forget that if your Github is public, do not store any private information as it will be accessible by anyone.

What are the commands to undo a commit?

To go back to a previous version of a file, you can use git checkout This restores the previous version of the file. You can simply type git checkout HEAD~1 [yourfile] to go back one step. Alternatively, you can enter a specific version of a file (perhaps a few steps back) to revert back, for example: git checkout [myoldversion]

Alternatively, you can use git revert [IDofyourincorrectcommit] However, this will make a new commit to undo your old one. It will not be the same as deleting your old commit.

One of your repositories is in a “detached HEAD” state. How do you fix this?

A detached headspace can happen if you hit the command checkout without specifying where to go. You must re-attach your head before making any more changes. To do this you can simply type: git checkout master

Your boss has no idea what Git is or why you are using it. Explain the pros / cons of using Git for your research project. Explain the pros / cons of hosting your project in a public (or private) repository on Github/Bitbucket/Gitlab/etc.

Pros

Easy collaboration- the ability to merge files with ease, and track everyone’s changes
Back up of previous files- and easy restoration if mistakes are made!
Nice and accessible to anyone working on the project- simply share the link!
Long term storage- if a project is re-opened years later, it’s all there!
Github can be free if you use public mode

Cons

If your repository is public, anyone may access it and you may have issues if you are working on confidential work
You cannot store huge data files on Git, so this still needs to be done elsewhere