If you're a developer, you've likely heard of Git, GitHub, and maybe even Vercel. But what exactly are these tools, how do they work together, and why are they so popular and important in modern software development? In this post, we'll break it all down step-by-step.
What is Git?
At its core, Git is a distributed version control system. It allows developers to track changes to their codebase over time, create different versions or "branches" of the code to work on features or bug fixes independently, and efficiently merge code changes back together.
Some key features and advantages of Git include:
- Distributed architecture - Every developer has a full copy of the code repository on their local machine, allowing them to work offline and independently
- Branching and merging - Developers can easily create separate branches to isolate their work, experiment with changes, and then merge branches back together
- Speed and efficiency - Most Git operations are performed locally, making them extremely fast compared to centralized systems
- Data integrity - Git uses cryptographic hashes to track and secure all code changes and repository states
Git has become the de facto standard for version control, used by the vast majority of software teams and open source projects today.
What is GitHub?
While Git is the underlying version control tool, GitHub is a cloud-based hosting service and collaboration platform built on top of Git. It provides a centralized place to store Git repositories, as well as web interfaces and features to facilitate code reviews, project management, and team collaboration.
Key GitHub features include:
- Repositories - Projects are stored in "repositories" which hold all the code files, documentation, and version history
- Pull requests - When a developer wants to merge code changes from their branch back to the main codebase, they open a "pull request" which allows team members to review, discuss, and iterate on the changes before merging
- Issues and project boards - GitHub provides issue tracking to report bugs or discuss features, as well as kanban-style project boards to plan and track development work
- GitHub Actions - Developers can automate their software workflows, including building, testing, and deploying code using GitHub Actions
- Extensive integrations - GitHub integrates with hundreds of third-party tools and services used in the software development lifecycle
With over 50 million users and 100 million repositories, GitHub has become the largest host of source code in the world and the center of open source software development.
GitHub Desktop
While all Git operations can be done using the command line, GitHub Desktop provides a user-friendly graphical interface for interacting with Git and GitHub. It allows developers to easily clone repositories, create branches, stage and commit changes, push and pull from remote repositories, and more without needing to remember Git commands.
GitHub Desktop is free, open source, and available on Windows and macOS. It aims to simplify the Git and GitHub workflow, especially for developers who are new to version control or prefer a visual interface.
Deploying with Vercel
Vercel is a cloud platform for static sites and serverless functions that makes it easy to deploy websites and web applications. It's popular among frontend developers using frameworks like Next.js, React, Vue, and Svelte.
One of Vercel's key features is its seamless integration with GitHub. Developers can import their GitHub repository into Vercel, which will then automatically build and deploy the project with every new commit. This enables a continuous deployment workflow where code changes are rapidly published to production.
Here's how the basic Vercel deployment process works:
- A developer pushes code to a GitHub repository branch (e.g. a feature branch or the main branch)
- Vercel automatically detects the push and begins building the project
- Vercel deploys the built project to a unique URL for testing and review
- When the branch is merged to the production branch (e.g. "main"), Vercel will automatically deploy the changes to the production URL
Vercel also provides features like custom domains, environment variables, serverless functions, and preview deployments for pull requests. It aims to provide an intuitive, integrated workflow for frontend developers to build, preview, and ship their web projects.
Putting it all together
Let's walk through an example of how a developer might use Git, GitHub, GitHub Desktop, and Vercel together in their day-to-day work:
- The developer clones a GitHub repository to their local machine using GitHub Desktop
- They create a new branch in GitHub Desktop to start working on a new feature
- Using their code editor, the developer makes changes to the code in their local branch
- In GitHub Desktop, they review their changes, write a commit message, and push the branch to GitHub
- On GitHub, the developer opens a new pull request for their branch, requesting to merge their changes into the main branch
- The team reviews the pull request, discusses and iterates on the changes
- Vercel automatically deploys a preview of the pull request, allowing the team to see and test the changes in a production-like environment
- After the pull request is approved, it's merged into the main branch
- Vercel automatically builds and deploys the main branch to production
- The developer pulls the latest main branch in GitHub Desktop, then creates a new branch to start their next task
This workflow allows developers to rapidly iterate on features, get feedback from their team, and continuously deliver updates to users - all centered around Git and GitHub with Vercel providing the deployment automation.
Conclusion
Git, GitHub, and Vercel are powerful, modern tools that have transformed the way software is built and delivered. By providing distributed version control, seamless collaboration, and continuous deployment, they enable developers and teams to ship software faster and more reliably than ever before.
Understanding and leveraging these tools is essential for any developer working on web applications today. While there is certainly a learning curve, investing the time to master Git, get involved on GitHub, and learn deployment platforms like Vercel will pay dividends in your productivity, code quality, and ability to collaborate with other developers.
The best way to learn is to dive in and start using these tools in your own projects. Experiment with branching and merging in Git, contribute to open source projects on GitHub, deploy a side project with Vercel. Over time, the workflows will become second nature and you'll wonder how you ever developed software without these tools in your arsenal.
Citations: [1] https://github.com/features [2] https://k21academy.com/devops-job-bootcamp/git-overview-workflow-advantages/ [3] https://everhour.com/blog/what-is-github/ [4] https://vercel.com/docs/deployments/git/vercel-for-github [5] https://github.com/topics/blog-website [6] https://zeet.co/blog/software-deployment-process [7] https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-write-blog-post-outline [8] https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/git-tutorial/what-is-git