Git & GitHub Tutorial eBook

This is a tutorial on Git & GitHub for scientists without formal programming background: https://gitbookdown.dallasdatascience.com

Git for version control	GitHub for sharing your code

Authors: Micaela Chan @mychan24 & Ekarin Pongpipat @epongpipat

Why is git important for scientists?

Git facilitates (1) documentation, and (2) sharing/collaborating. Both of these are important in science.

• I. Version-control for code = the lab notebook of experiments. We need documentation for all our processes:

  • Scenario A: Things were working, now they are not!
  • Scenario B: Why were changes made?
  • Scenario C: We made changes a long time ago…

• II. Git and Remote Hosts (e.g., GitHub) makes sharing/collaborating easier

  • Sharing code made easy
  • Facilitates new collaboration
  • Encourages open source and open science

Acknowledgement

• This tutorial borrows heavily from Software Carpentry’s tutorial. Software Carpentry provides a lot of resources for other courses and teaching in general. Check them out!

• Special thanks to @jennywxyz for providing feedback and proofreading.