Keep Track of Your Files Versions

Git came to life thanks to the genius of Linus Torvalds. I also tossed around some terms like "content tracker" and "version control system," which might have sounded like difficult tech jargon at first. So, what do these terms actually mean?

At its core, a version control system, or what some might call a "code tracker," is a tool designed to help you manage and track changes in your text files. Text files is organized around lines, each ending with a newline character (\n), and composed of characters you can find on your keyboard (ASCII). You’ve probably encountered them before: .csv, .txt, .json, .xml, .md, .yml, .html, .ini, .c, .py, .js, .java, .scala… the list goes on!

Now, let’s clear up a common misconception. When we talk about version control systems, we’re often talking about Git. But here’s the thing: Git isn’t just for programmers. You don’t have to be a coding wizard or have aspirations to become one to benefit from Git. Picture this: You’re diligently collecting recipes in a .txt file or entering data into Excel and saving it as a .csv file (keep in mind, Git doesn’t play well with .xlsx files—those are not text files!). Instead of manually creating multiple versions like “recipes_v1.txt” and “recipes_v2.txt” every time you add a new recipe or tweak your data, Git can handle all the versioning for you. Just think of the time you’d save!

Now, another common mix-up people have is thinking that GitHub or GitLab is Git. Let’s set the record straight: GitHub and GitLab are just remote repositories. Git repositories is nothing fancy just directory (folder) which is tracked by git. Programmers use GitHub, GitLab just to store code in order to share it with other developers for easier collaboration.