Configuration Management
31 Jan 2017Git vs GitHub
A large disciplinary field within software development and engineering is configuration management. The technical definition sums up to procedures of tracking and controlling changes made in the development process of a software. An organization started back in 2005 when the Linux development community wanted to be able to tackle big projects while providing users more freedom and security of data than previous version control systems (VCS). The fundamental objectives of Git focuses on a “non-linear development system” that increase both efficiency and productivity on a large scale.
As a novice in the open source community, the ability to collaborate and work without bounds of stringent server’s configurations or fear of data being lost during a development process, reduces the level of stress significantly. We all know what it takes to dive into endless hours of work and interruption of workflow is a detriment to productivity that results in a capital stagnant. Even though I am not on the level of managing information that could cause any financial impact, I greatly appreciate the effectiveness that Git can do with data storing and revision. I have yet to come across a problem with lack of effective configuration management practices on Git. However, for previous courses I took at my university, my teammates would use online workspaces like Cloud9 or Google Drive to do simultaneous editing and updates. The problem we came across was when one person would edit a section of code and run it, and there would be errors because other parts of the projects were in the midst of debugging. We would have to either wait it out or open a separate integrated development environment (IDE) and ran the code. The utility support that Git is able to provide is again a big advantage over other VCS.
Now in terms of GitHub versus Git, neither can exist without the other in my perspective. One is the tool itself while the other is the service that provide the hosting repositories. It compliments each other so it’s popularity will diminish if either stop its function. Overall, the basis of configuration management evolves everyday as more users value quality controlled data management that needs tuning to maximize efficiency.