Why Git/GitHub?

Just to summarize some points before we move on to actual teaching.

Using a well established Git and Git platform (GitHub) is better than tracking versions/files manually because:

• Nothing that is committed/saved to version control is ever lost. Its possible to go back in time time to see exactly who wrote what on a particular day, or what version of a program was used to generate a particular set of results.
• As we have this record of who made what changes when, we know who to ask if we have questions later on, and, if needed, revert to a previous version, much like the “undo” feature in an editor.
• When several people collaborate in the same project, it’s possible to accidentally overlook or overwrite someone’s changes. The version control system automatically detects potential conflicts between one person’s work and another’s and notifies users.
• GitHub issues/projects/branches provide ergonomic solutions to common project management challenges.

Git/GitHub can help us bring software engineering best practices to public health to enable us to better respond to complex public health problems in a manner that is timely, organized, transparent and reproducible.