Github - what is it really?!

Question

ok.. this might seem like a strange question but my idea of Github and that of my boss is very different.

From what I can tell its a version control tool.

My boss seems to think that it will connect to the server where we're hosting our webapp and when changes are committed on github that these get applied to the server to... If this is the case how do I connect github to my server?

Many thanks for helping me with what might seem like a stupid question but I've searched forums, articles and I'm more confused than ever!

Fiona

Answer 1

Git is a version control system like Subversion, Mercurial, or Bazaar. Github is a website that will store and present your files. It is similar in concept to Sourceforge, except more focused on compatibility with Git specifically.

Answer 2

It's hosted versioning control, just like many other systems, except it uses Git. You can get Git on other hosted services as well, such as Unfuddle. If you want to host it in your own corporate environment, then get the Enterprise version of Github (Github:fi)

http://github.com/plans

Answer 3

git is a distributed version control system.

github is a website providing git hosting services.

github doesn't provide continuous integration (the stuff your boss is talking about).

Answer 4

Git is a version control tool.

Github is a "web-based hosting service for projects that use the Git revision control system." (Wikipedia)

In either case, it isn't a tool that will auto-apply changes to a running web application when you commit things. While there are tools to do that, this isn't it.

Answer 5

Git - source control tool
Github - hosting for Git
Neither provide continuous integration.

What your boss probably read were the multitude of people who have been writing blog posts, etc, about using Git to push updates to a webserver.

Such as this one. Or this SO post. Or this one (which uses hooks to do it automagically).

A lot of people seem really to enjoy "git push [foo]" and write whole articles on it and how it updates your web server without any effort, likely confusing your boss.