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0. Prerequisites and Git Basics

Before starting the workshop, let's make sure you have the necessary tools and a basic understanding of Git and GitHub.

Prerequisites

  1. GitHub Account: You should already have one for CSE120. If not, create one here.
  2. GitHub Student Developer Pack (Highly Recommended): Sign up for the GitHub Student Developer Pack.
    • Why? This gives you GitHub Pro for free while you are a student.
    • Benefits: Pro provides significantly increased quotas for GitHub Codespaces (cloud development environments) and GitHub Actions (CI/CD minutes).
    • Note: While the Free tier is sufficient for this workshop, GitHub Pro is highly recommended for your semester-long team project to ensure you don't run out of build minutes or storage.
  3. UC Merced Email: Ensure you use your UC Merced email to sign up for GitHub, so you can be added to the class organization.
  4. Join the CSE120 GitHub Organization: Check your email for an invitation to join the organization and accept it.
  5. Git Installed: Ensure Git is installed on your computer.
    • Type git --version in your terminal to check.
    • If not installed, download it from git-scm.com.
  6. Visual Studio Code (Recommended): We recommend VS Code as your code editor.

Git and GitHub Basics

If you are new to Git or GitHub, or need a refresher, we strongly recommend completing the following GitHub Skills exercises. These are interactive, self-paced lessons that will get you up to speed quickly.

[!Caution] Repository Restrictions

You are allowed to create repositories within the cse120-ucm organization only for this workshop and your project . For personal learning (such as tutorials or side projects), please create repositories under your own personal account.

  1. Introduction to GitHub

    • Learn how to create a repository, start a branch, write comments, and open a pull request.
    • Time: ~1 hour

  2. Communicate using Markdown

    • Learn the syntax for formatting text on GitHub (used in issues, PRs, and documentation).
    • Time: ~30 mins

  3. Review pull requests

    • Learn how to review code and propose changes. This will be crucial for Part 2 of the workshop.
    • Time: ~1 hour

Key Concepts

  • Repository (Repo): The folder where your project files and revision history are stored.
  • Commit: A snapshot of your changes. Think of it as a "save point".
  • Branch: A parallel version of your repository. You use branches to work on features without affecting the main code.
  • Pull Request (PR): A proposal to merge changes from one branch into another (usually into main). It allows for code review and discussion.
  • Issue: A way to track tasks, enhancements, and bugs for your project.

Join the Organization

For this workshop, you will be working within the class GitHub Organization.

  1. Check your email (or Canvas) for an invitation to join the GitHub Organization.
  2. Accept the invitation.
  3. Verify you are a member by navigating to the organization page on GitHub.

Once you are ready, proceed to Step 1: Create a GitHub Repository.