In this assignment, you will familiarize yourself with two common version control workflows using git
and GitHub: a centralized workflow; and a forking workflow (also known as the "open source workflow").
With the centralized workflow, you will set up a remote repository on GitHub and a local cloned repository for your own project and practice pushing and pulling to/from this remote repository.
With the forking workflow, you will contribute to another student's project by forking their repository, making changes to your copy, and issuing a pull request to them to incorporate your changes.
Execute the following instructions in order.
Note that with version control systems such as git
, it is easy to verify what work has or has not been done by whom on any project via the log files. So activity using such systems cannot be faked (not that you would ever consider such a thing)!
Download and install git
on your local machine, if you haven't already done so.
In this part, we will try out a simple centralized workflow, where developers work with two copies of a repository: a local copy, where changes are made; and a remote copy, where completed changes are uploaded in order to be archived and shared with others.
- Create an account on GitHub, if you don't already have one.
- Create a new repository in your account on GitHub. If you are viewing this document in your own repository or a repository that has been created for you by GitHub Classroom, then this is already done!
-
Clone your remote repository on GitHub to your own local machine.
-
Create a
README.md
file in that directory using valid Markdown syntax. Edit this file such that it includes the following:- a link to an article or web site you find interesting related to software development/engineering (indirect relationships are ok)
- a paragraph or two about what you find interesting about that article
- remember that this will be public
- Use Markdown syntax to make it look nice
-
Commit your `README.md`` file to the local repository, including a meaningful commit message.
- Push the latest version of the files in your local repository to the GitHub repository you created.
- Your two repositories should now be in-sync
- Share the link to your GitHub repository on the course's Discord workspace and invite others to collaborate... they will do so via the forking workflow outlined below.
In this part, we will practice the forking workflow, also known as the open source workflow. Developers following this type of workflow interact with at least 3 different copies of a repository: the original remote repository that the developer ultimately intends to contribute to; a remote clone of that official repositor, known as a "fork
"; and a local clone of the fork, where the developer makes changes.
- Wait for other students to also share their repository links from the centralized workflow part of this assignment.
- Select one of the other students' GitHub repository links that you find interesting.
- Fork that repository on GitHub - you now have a clone of that repository in your own GitHub account - we'll refer to this repository as "your forked repository"
- Clone your forked repository from GitHub to a new directory on your local machine (not the same directory as your original repository)
- Create a new branch of your forked repository on your local machine where you will make changes to it. Switch to (i.e
checkout
) that branch. - Edit the
README.md
file in your forked repository on your local machine to include a comment from you about that same article mentioned in the file. Make it looks nice using Markdown syntax.- Include your name in the edit you make, so we can clearly see who did it (we can also verify this with the Git change logs)
- Commit these changes to your local repository, including a meaningful commit message
- Pull any changes others may have made to the remote repository on GitHub while you were working (use the
--rebase
option on the git pull to put your own changes to the tip of the change history when merged) - Push your changes to your remote repository on GitHub
- The branch you created with the changes you made will now be updated on your forked repository on GitHub
- Make a pull request on the other student's original repository from which you forked yours, asking them politely to include your changes in their original repository
- Make sure at least one other student has made a pull request with some changes to your own original repository - use Discord to coordinate this
- If the pull request changes you dislike, leave a response indicating why you have not accepted them, asking the other contributor to fix the problems
- Once you are happy with the changes, accept them
- Pull the updated files to the local repository of your project
- Merge any and all branches to the 'master' branch
- Commit any changes, including a meaningful commit message
- Push the result to the remote repository on GitHub