Git and GitHub - Revision history

Ajshen at 03:15, 29 June 2026

2026-06-29T03:15:45Z

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			[[Category:Version Control]]

	== Introduction to Git and GitHub ==		== Introduction to Git and GitHub ==
	Before diving into the commands, it is helpful to distinguish between the two tools:		Before diving into the commands, it is helpful to distinguish between the two tools:

Ajshen: /* 4. External Resources */

2026-06-27T07:19:57Z

4. External Resources

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	<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #6c757d; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">		<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #6c757d; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
	* [https://docs.github.com/en/get-started Official GitHub Documentation]		* [https://docs.github.com/en/get-started Official GitHub Documentation]
			* [https://36-750.github.io/tools/version-control/ 36-750 Version Control Guide]

Ajshen: /* Introduction to Git and GitHub */

2026-06-27T07:19:49Z

Introduction to Git and GitHub

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	<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #005A9C; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">		<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #005A9C; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
	'''Recommended Quick Starts:'''<br>		'''Recommended Quick Starts:'''<br>
	* '''[https://36-750.github.io/tools/version-control/ 36-750 Version Control Guide]'''
	* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-an0v208A0 Git and GitHub explained in 7 minutes]'''		* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-an0v208A0 Git and GitHub explained in 7 minutes]'''
	* '''[https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/git/introduction-to-github/ Git and GitHub Crash Course]'''		* '''[https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/git/introduction-to-github/ Git and GitHub Crash Course]'''

Ajshen: /* 4. External Resources */

2026-06-27T07:19:37Z

4. External Resources

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	<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #6c757d; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">		<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #6c757d; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
	* [https://docs.github.com/en/get-started Official GitHub Documentation]		* [https://docs.github.com/en/get-started Official GitHub Documentation]
	* [PLACEHOLDER_TUTORIAL_LINK Software Carpentry: Version Control with Git]
	* [https://36-750.github.io/tools/version-control/ 36-750 Version Control Guide]
	~~</div>~~

Ajshen: /* 2. Local Git Operations */

2026-06-27T07:19:18Z

2. Local Git Operations

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	== 2. Local Git Operations ==		== 2. Local Git Operations ==
	To start ~~tracking changes~~ on your own computer, you will use the command line to initialize a repository and make "commits" (snapshots of your project).		To start using git for version control on your own computer, you will use the command line to initialize a repository and make "commits" (snapshots of your project).

	<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #28a745; padding: 10px 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">		<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #28a745; padding: 10px 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">

Ajshen: /* 1. Why You Should Use Version Control */

2026-06-27T07:18:28Z

1. Why You Should Use Version Control

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	'''The Solo Disaster'''		'''The Solo Disaster'''
	Imagine you have spent three weeks perfecting a script that ~~optimizes~~ a ~~neural likelihood~~ estimator ~~for a spatial process~~. Right before a meeting with your advisor, you decide to make a "quick tweak" to the loss function. Suddenly, the script throws a tensor dimension error, the ~~simulation~~ pipeline crashes, and you cannot remember exactly which lines you modified. With Git, you can simply run a command to see exactly what changed, or instantly revert the file back to its last working state.		Imagine you have spent three weeks perfecting a script that implements an optimization procedure for a new estimator. Right before a meeting with your advisor, you decide to make a "quick tweak" to the loss function. Suddenly, the script throws a tensor dimension error, the data pipeline crashes, and you cannot remember exactly which lines you modified. With Git, you can simply run a command to see exactly what changed, or instantly revert the file back to its last working state.

	'''The Collaboration Headache'''		'''The Collaboration Headache'''
	Suppose you and an external committee member are both working on the same codebase. Without version control, you might email zip files back and forth. If you both edit the main ~~simulation~~ script at the same time, someone's work is going to be overwritten and lost. Git and GitHub solve this by intelligently merging different contributors' changes line-by-line and highlighting any conflicts before they break the project.		Suppose you and an external committee member are both working on the same codebase. Without version control, you might email zip files back and forth. If you both edit the main optimization script at the same time, someone's work is going to be overwritten and lost. Git and GitHub solve this by intelligently merging different contributors' changes line-by-line and highlighting any conflicts before they break the project.

	== 2. Local Git Operations ==		== 2. Local Git Operations ==

Ajshen at 07:17, 27 June 2026

2026-06-27T07:17:31Z

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	<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #005A9C; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">		<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #005A9C; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
	'''Recommended Quick Starts:'''<br>		'''Recommended Quick Starts:'''<br>
	* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-an0v208A0 Git and GitHub explained in 7 minutes]		* '''[https://36-750.github.io/tools/version-control/ 36-750 Version Control Guide]'''
	* [~~PLACEHOLDER_TUTORIAL_LINK Interactive Tutorial~~: ~~Learning~~ Git ~~Branching~~]		* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-an0v208A0 Git and GitHub explained in 7 minutes]'''
			* '''[https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/git/introduction-to-github/ Git and GitHub Crash Course]'''
	</div>		</div>

Ajshen: /* Introduction to Git and GitHub */

2026-06-27T07:15:38Z

Introduction to Git and GitHub

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:15, 27 June 2026
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	<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #005A9C; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">		<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #005A9C; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
	'''Recommended Quick Starts:'''<br>		'''Recommended Quick Starts:'''<br>
	* [~~PLACEHOLDER_VIDEO_LINK Short Video~~: Git & GitHub in ~~10 Minutes~~]		* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-an0v208A0 Git and GitHub explained in 7 minutes]
	* [PLACEHOLDER_TUTORIAL_LINK Interactive Tutorial: Learning Git Branching]		* [PLACEHOLDER_TUTORIAL_LINK Interactive Tutorial: Learning Git Branching]
	</div>		</div>

Ajshen: Created page with "== Introduction to Git and GitHub == Before diving into the commands, it is helpful to distinguish between the two tools: * '''Git''' is the underlying software that runs loca..."

2026-06-27T07:14:33Z

Created page with "== Introduction to Git and GitHub == Before diving into the commands, it is helpful to distinguish between the two tools: * '''Git''' is the underlying software that runs loca..."

New page

== Introduction to Git and GitHub ==
Before diving into the commands, it is helpful to distinguish between the two tools:
* '''Git''' is the underlying software that runs locally on your computer. It acts as a time machine for your codebase, recording a history of every change you make to your files.
* '''GitHub''' is an online hosting platform (like Dropbox or Google Drive, but for code) that stores your Git repositories in the cloud, allowing you to back up your work, share it with the public, or collaborate seamlessly with external researchers.

<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #005A9C; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
'''Recommended Quick Starts:'''<br>
* [PLACEHOLDER_VIDEO_LINK Short Video: Git & GitHub in 10 Minutes]
* [PLACEHOLDER_TUTORIAL_LINK Interactive Tutorial: Learning Git Branching]
</div>

== 1. Why You Should Use Version Control ==
If you have ever had a directory filled with files named <code>script_final.py</code>, <code>script_final_real.py</code>, and <code>script_tweak_v2.py</code>, you already understand the need for version control.

'''The Solo Disaster'''
Imagine you have spent three weeks perfecting a script that optimizes a neural likelihood estimator for a spatial process. Right before a meeting with your advisor, you decide to make a "quick tweak" to the loss function. Suddenly, the script throws a tensor dimension error, the simulation pipeline crashes, and you cannot remember exactly which lines you modified. With Git, you can simply run a command to see exactly what changed, or instantly revert the file back to its last working state.

'''The Collaboration Headache'''
Suppose you and an external committee member are both working on the same codebase. Without version control, you might email zip files back and forth. If you both edit the main simulation script at the same time, someone's work is going to be overwritten and lost. Git and GitHub solve this by intelligently merging different contributors' changes line-by-line and highlighting any conflicts before they break the project.

== 2. Local Git Operations ==
To start tracking changes on your own computer, you will use the command line to initialize a repository and make "commits" (snapshots of your project).

<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #28a745; padding: 10px 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
'''Step 1: Initialize a Repository'''<br>
Navigate to your project folder in the terminal and tell Git to start tracking it.
<pre>git init</pre>
</div>

<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #28a745; padding: 10px 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
'''Step 2: Stage Your Changes'''<br>
Before taking a snapshot, you must tell Git which modified files you want to include.
<pre>git add my_script.py</pre>
*(Tip: Use <code>git add .</code> to stage all modified files in the directory)*
</div>

<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #28a745; padding: 10px 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
'''Step 3: Commit the Changes'''<br>
Save the snapshot with a brief, descriptive message explaining what you did.
<pre>git commit -m "Fix tensor broadcasting bug in spatial model"</pre>
</div>

<div style="background-color: #e9ecef; padding: 10px 15px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
'''Helpful Commands:''' Use <code>git status</code> to see which files are modified but not yet committed, and <code>git log</code> to view your entire commit history.
</div>

== 3. Interfacing with GitHub ==
Once your code is tracked locally, you will likely want to back it up or share it via GitHub.

=== Uploading a Local Repo to GitHub ===
# Go to [https://github.com GitHub] and click the '''New''' button to create a new repository.
# Give it a name and description, but do '''not''' initialize it with a README (since you already have local files).
# Copy the URL provided by GitHub.
# In your local terminal, link your computer to the GitHub server and upload (push) your code:
<pre>
git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/your-repo.git
git push -u origin main
</pre>

=== Downloading an Existing Repo (Cloning) ===
If you want to download a project that already exists on GitHub (either your own from a different computer, or someone else's public codebase), you do not need to download a zip file. Instead, clone it:
<pre>git clone https://github.com/username/repository-name.git</pre>
This downloads the code and the entire Git history, keeping the link to the GitHub server intact so you can easily pull future updates.

== 4. External Resources ==
<div style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #6c757d; padding: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
* [https://docs.github.com/en/get-started Official GitHub Documentation]
* [PLACEHOLDER_TUTORIAL_LINK Software Carpentry: Version Control with Git]
* [https://36-750.github.io/tools/version-control/ 36-750 Version Control Guide]
</div>