I’ve said I was going to do it for a while, and so I’ve finally done it. I setup and learned a bit how on how to use Github. I’ve used a few SVNs in a few Linux distros at the day job, so I do have a small leg up, and the GitHub concept is simple. The options, once you signup with the usual email method, are to create a Repository or fork someone else’s Repository. Change the code and open source continues. You can send “pull requests” to give the previous author a chance to merge your code with theirs, or you can just keep on using your fork, improving it as your grow.

Even though I am an iOS developer, I actually do my coding in Windows using Adobe’s Dreamweaver 5.5. Eventually I have to use xCode on a Mac, but as any xCode jQuery programmer is quite aware, xCode sucks at formatting jQuery. To get started with GitHub in windows, first I installed a little application. If you are going to do this, be sure to follow the directions at the link all the way through setting up an SSH key. This is very important.

Once this was completed, I can now access the Git Windows Application through right clicking in Windows Explorer. All you gotta do is find the root folder of your code on your hard drive, and right-click on it to start using Git. Select “Git Init” to initialize and setup the structure that keeps track of all your code versions.

Use the ‘Git Commit’ tool option to select all the files, and add them to your new Git repository. Stage your files and commit them locally with this tool. Do not be confused though, local commitment is only half the battle. Once this is done, you need to use the ‘Git GUI’ (another right-click option) to “push” your files to the GitHub website online to share with the world!

That’s pretty much it. The UI is a little confusing at first, but keeping these key concepts in mind while clicking around, and I was able to figure it out. If you have any questions or need help getting around, leave a comment below. I hope to post some useful code tomorrow, but tonight it was mostly the “Hello World” experience. Be sure to follow me on GitHub!

I love IT, we are always learning to walk.

About the Author: Sprawl

Stephen Russell is a Mobile App developer and all around IT geek that spends his days running data centers and his nights coding. This site is the go to place for all of zSprawl's work and the infamous development blog. In his free time, he enjoys tinkering with web code, playing video games, and otherwise plotting to take over the Internets.