Version control – My Journey to App Success

My experience with Github is minimal. I’ve used it intuitively, and tentatively, but my ignorance has delivered more problems than benefits. I am now pushing projects to Github directly from Android Studio, but I’m still yet to fully understand or apply the range of available features. Whilst my shortcomings with the facility hasn’t been too much of an obstacle to the quality of my work to date, I anticipate growth in its importance as the complexity of my code progresses.

By 3^rd June, I intend to be comfortable with the terminology, and have at least a basic understanding of how to use Github through Android Studio.

The benefits of being fully conversant with Github will rise correlatively as the complexity of my projects develops. Particularly so when working collaboratively. As well as providing access-from-anywhere backup, Github facilitates tracking changes across versions, managing collaborative development projects, and seeking coding assistance from the Flutter community within Github. These benefits will all contribute to my progress as an efficient and effective App Developer.

I will start by familiarising myself with the terminology (push, pull, commit, fork, clone, merge etc.) to better understand the range of possibilities. I’ll use online tutorial resources to learn and integrate source control into my development process, starting with 2 Udacity courses, and then reassess my needs.

Primarily a solo project, I will seek assistance from the study group if/when necessary.

Specific

I will be able to explain each term in the Github glossary and apply the main features through Android Studio

Measurable

I will consider each of the 29 terms achieved when I can explain it in my own words and practically apply the concept, where appropriate.

Achievable

Time is my constraint, so I’ll use my Trello board (8) to incorporate a commitment to understanding 7-8 glossary terms per sprint.

Relevant

Proficiency with source control will be increasingly beneficial, if not essential, for upcoming modules, and beyond.

Time-Bound

This will be achieved by 3^rd June. I will ring fence 4 hours per week, over the next 4 sprints to achieve this.

I already had an awareness of Git through my studies with Udacity, and so my laptop is already set up with git and I have a GitHub account. However, as the old addage goes… a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. As part of my nanodegree studies, I was encouraged to use git and GitHub, but instruction provided was minimal and I consequently found myself getting into all sorts of problems with it, due to my ignorance. At the time, it seemed that the use of git and GitHub were primarily for sharing my projects and submitting them for assessment. I was more concerned with furthering my app development skills than learning the intricacies of git/GitHub, and so I abandoned it (to end my growing frustrations with it) and opted for the much simpler alternative of sharing my projects through Google Drive.

The introductory videos provided on this course have given me an appreciation for the importance of version control, and how git and GitHub are tools that I should embrace, for my own sake.

To date, I have only really used GitHub through Android Studio, as opposed to GitBash, and I now realise that I need to gain a greater understanding of how both methods work.

I decided that I needed to seek out some tutorials on the subject to improve my skills and knowledge in this area. I have so far found 2 free version control/git course with Udacity (ironically!) that I will start with, and see if I need further guidance after that:

How To Use Git & GitHub

Version Control With Git

ENDS

Tag: Version control

Source Control