DEV Community: David Onuta

Working with Git & GitHub

David Onuta — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 15:51:53 +0000

Introduction

In this article, readers will learn how to use Git and GitHub to improve their workflow.

At different points in a creator's life, there could be a series of undoing and redoing. The idea of version control (tracking and managing changes to a file) can help with this, as the creator adds/removes parts of their program. Being conversant with Git and GitHub will make this possible.

Table of Content

Prerequisite
What is Git?
What is GitHub?
Creating a GitHub Repository
Git first steps
- Setting your email and name
- Initialising/Cloning a repository
GitHub Desktop first steps
- Creating/Cloning a repository
Creating a README.md file
Understanding Basic Commands (add, commit, and push)
- add
- commit
- push
Conclusion
- Resources

Prerequisite

To follow along with this article;

create an account on GitHub
download and install
- Git, if you prefer to use a CLI (Command Line Interface), or
- GitHub Desktop, if you prefer to use a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

What is Git?

Git is a version control system (a system that helps users refer to previous versions of their work, if need be). It is a software that tracks changes made to files. It runs on the command line and is mostly preferred by creators who work on a CLI like Software Engineers, Web Developers, System Administrators, and Programmers.

What is GitHub?

GitHub is a website that houses repositories (a top-level folder structure containing sub-folders and files). The repositories are stored remotely (on the website), so, users will need a means to work on them locally (on their computers). This is where Git (a CLI) and the GitHub desktop application (a GUI) come into play. The desktop application is usually preferred by non-programmers.

GitHub also allows for collaboration, which makes it useful for networking, and for team members to work together.

Creating a GitHub Repository

Click on the button and follow the steps to create a GitHub repository:

Creating a GitHub Repository

Git first steps

Git is a software installed and operated locally. You need a way for it to track the remote repository you're currently working with to upload your files to the correct location. To do this, you set your email and name, after which you choose the remote repository to track by initialising or cloning it.

Setting your email and name

To set up your email and name on Git to match with your GitHub account, run the following command:

git config [--global] user.email "user@email.com"
git config [--global] user.name "first_name last_name"

The command in the square brackets is optional and is used to set the email and name globally on your machine. Omitting the --global option sets the email and name for only the current repository.

The optional commands are to be run without the square brackets.

Initialising/Cloning a repository

To create a local repository to track the remote repository, you can either initialise or clone it. To initialise a folder on your machine as a Git repository means to point it to a remote repository. Navigate to the folder you wish to initialise and run this command:

git init

How to initialise a repository on the terminal

To clone a remote repository means to copy the folder structure to your local machine. You would need the remote repository URL to clone it.

git clone https://github.com/owner/repo.git

How to clone a repository on the terminal

GitHub Desktop first steps

GitHub Desktop provides users with a GUI, giving non-programmers a way to access GitHub's features. Launch the GitHub Desktop app and sign in to your account.

How to configure GitHub Desktop

Creating/Cloning a repository

After signing in to your account on the GitHub Desktop application, creating and cloning a repository can be done with the click of a button.

Creating a repository

How to create a repository on GitHub Desktop

Cloning a repository

How to clone a repository on GitHub Desktop

Creating a `README.md` file

A README.md file is a file written in Markdown syntax and is used to give information about a repository. Upon creating a repository, the option to initialise a README.md file is available, but it can also be created locally. Creating this file is the same as creating any other file but with the name README and the file extension .md. The name of this file is by convention, as the repository will use any other markdown file for information about the repository if the README.md file is unavailable.

To learn how to write in markdown syntax, check out this article

Understanding Basic Commands (`add`, `commit`, and `push`)

After creating/initialising/cloning a repository, you can now create files, make edits, and continue being creative. These files should communicate with GitHub to make use of the version control system, and also for collaboration. There are three basic commands used for this; add, commit, and push.

These operations are available through point and click on the GitHub Desktop application. Git users will have to prefix these commands with the git command.

`add`

The add command is the first step and is used to add file(s) that will be included in a project's history.

# To add selected files
git add file_1 file_2

# To add all files
git add .

`commit`

The commit command is the second step and is used to record the changes made to the files that have been added.

git commit -m "A simple descriptive message"

`push`

The push command is used to update (publish) the remote repository with all changes made to the local repository.

git push

How to add, commit, and push on the terminal

Conclusion

As you have seen, using Git and GitHub is easy and fun. From creating a GitHub account, creating a repository, and initialising or cloning a repository, to the basic add, commit, and push commands, you should now be comfortable using version control with your projects.

Resources

For more reading, you can check these out:

Visuals have been created using Tango and Loom.

How to Write Markdown

David Onuta — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:13:15 +0000

Introduction

In this article, readers will learn how to write in Markdown and use it in formatting their documents.

A different range of creators can make use of Markdown. For software developers, the file with the information about your projects, like the README.md file is written in Markdown. Technical and content writers can also use Markdown to write documentation, blogs, and other write-ups.

This article helps you understand how to write in Markdown.

Table of Content

Prerequisite
What is Markdown?
Formatting in Markdown
- Headers
- Paragraphs
- Bold
- Italics
- Lists
  - Ordered Lists
  - Unordered Lists
- Code
  - Inline Code
  - Multi-line Code
- Blockquotes
- Links
  - Inline Links
  - Reference Links
- Images
  - Inline Images
  - Reference Images
- Table
- The "Escape Character"
Conclusion
- Resources

Prerequisite

To follow along with this article;

download and install a text editor able to render Markdown, like Visual Studio Code, or
use an online editor, like Dillinger

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a way to write and format content for the web. It uses special syntax to format documents. Writing in Markdown differs from other applications that use GUI (Graphical User Interface) to highlight and format text, like Microsoft Word, and Google Docs.

Some text editors provide WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) features that render and display the Markdown formatted text as you edit them, like Visual Studio Code, Notepad++, Ghostwriter, etc. These text editors might require an extension/plugin to display Markdown.

The file extension for markdown is .md or .markdown. Say you have a file named my_file, to make it a Markdown file, you save it as my_file.md or my_file.markdown.

Markdown was created by John Gruber in 2004.

Formatting in Markdown

Special characters are used to format Markdown files, i.e. making text italics, bold , and so on. These special characters are highlighted below:

TO SPARK YOUR INTEREST, THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN MARKDOWN.

NOTE: The rendered Markdown is shown after every code block.

Headers

To indicate a header in Markdown, begin the line with a hash (#) sign. There are six levels of headers in Markdown, and the number of # signs beginning the line marks the level of the header. Each header must be separated with blank lines.

# Header LEVEL 1

## Header LEVEL 2

### Header LEVEL 3

#### Header LEVEL 4

##### Header LEVEL 5

###### Header LEVEL 6

RENDERED OUTPUT

Paragraphs

To write paragraphs in Markdown, you separate each paragraph with a blank line. Some Markdown renderers require that you end each paragraph with two spaces ([][]) to mark the end of the paragraph, and to also indicate blank lines, like GitHub Flavored Markdown.

This is a paragraph,
and this is part of the same paragraph.
[BLANK LINE]
This is another paragraph.[][]
This is yet another paragraph.[][]
[][]
And this is also another paragraph.

RENDERED OUTPUT

[] in the example code above represents a space from pressing the " SPACEBAR" key

Bold

To bolden a text, surround the text with two asterisks (**) or*two underscores* (__). Be consistent with whichever you choose.

Surround text with **two asterisks** or __two underscores__ to format as bold.

RENDERED OUTPUT

Italics

To display text as italics, surround the text with one asterisk (*) or one underscore (_). Whichever you decide to use, try to be consistent with it.

Surround text with *asterisk* or _underscore_ to format as italics.

RENDERED OUTPUT

Lists

Lists are used to present text in steps. They are usually separated by blank lines for readability sake. There are two main types of lists as explained below:

Ordered Lists

Lists are presented in an order when the next step cannot be done before the previous step. For example, to put on your trainers when you want to go for a run, you don't wear your shoes before wearing your socks, it has to be done the other way around. To indicate an ordered list, begin each line with a number (1, 2, 3, etc) and a period (.) sign.

Follow this routine when exercising:

1. Warm-up
2. Low-intensity exercises
3. High-intensity exercises
4. Warm-down

RENDERED OUTPUT

Unordered Lists

Lists that don't require any particular order are labelled unordered. For example, when shopping for groceries, you can decide to get the third, or seventh item on the list provided you are on the aisle where the item is displayed before picking up the first item. To display an unordered list, begin each line with an asterisk (*), a dash (-), or a plus sign (+).

REMEMBER : Be consistent with whichever format you choose.

Provisions List

* Peanut Butter
* Cookies
* Cereal

Body Care List

- Hair Cream
- Body Cream
- Deodorant

Cloth List

+ Shirts
+ Jeans
+ Socks

RENDERED OUTPUT

Lists can also be nested in lists. To do this, indent the nested list by at least 4 spaces or 1 tab.

How to:

* Develop a program
    1. Think out the algorithm
    2. Write the pseudocode
    3. Code the program

* Prepare a cereal
    * Get the cereal
    * Get the bowl and cutlery
    * Pour the milk
    * Pour the cereal
    * Add sweeteners

RENDERED OUTPUT

Note how you can get the bowl and cutlery before the cereal, or pour the cereal before the milk, for unordered lists.

Code

Code is highlighted and formatted differently from every other text. It is mainly used to display programming languages, but can also be used to display special text. The two ways to display text as code are shown below:

Inline Code

To display code inline, that is, without breaking the flow of the document, surround the code with backticks (`).

To display output in Python, use the `print()` function.

RENDERED OUTPUT

Multi-line Code

To display code in more than one line, as a block, surround the lines with three backticks or three tilde (~~~) signs. To format the code as a specific programming language, or as a text, add the language file extension after the first three backticks or tilde signs.

Displaying output in Python

```py
print("Hello, world!")

```

Formatting text as bold in Markdown

~~~md
What **country** do you hail from?

~~~

RENDERED OUTPUT

Blockquotes

Blockquotes are displayed in a special way to get the reader's attention. It is usually used to indicate important information. To highlight a blockquote, begin each line with the greater than sign (>). Blank lines in blockquotes also begin with >.

Here are two famous quotes:
> The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising
> every time we fall.[][]
> \- Nelson Mandela
>
> The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.[][]
> \- Walt Disney

RENDERED OUTPUT

Note the two spaces after the quote to end the paragraph, and the backslash "\" (explained later in this article) used here to prevent the text from becoming a list within the blockquote.

Links

Links are used to direct users to another location, like another page on the website/document, or another website/document entirely. Links are formatted in two ways:

Inline Links

For inline links, the links are shown side-by-side with the text when writing Markdown. To create an inline link, surround the link text with square brackets [], and then follow up with the link surrounded with parentheses (). There should be no space between the square brackets and parentheses.

This is a link to my very [first article](https://ogagaonuta.hashnode.dev/python-need-to-know-for-beginners)

Clicking on the link text will now point you to the specified link as shown below:

RENDERED OUTPUT

Reference Links

For reference links, a tag name is placed side-by-side with the text. This tag name then points to the link somewhere else in the document. This makes the document readable, by separating the link(s) from the text. It also helps when editing as you only have to correct the link in one place, rather than going through the whole document and correcting the link in several places.

To create a reference link, surround the link text with square brackets [], and then follow up with the tag name surrounded in square brackets. There should be no space between the square brackets and the tag name. For a multi-word tag name, use underscores or dashes as a separator.

The tag name can now be pointed to the link anywhere else in the document by specifying the tag name in square brackets, followed by a colon (:), a space, and then the link, all on its line. This is mostly placed at the end of the document.

Click [here][google] to visit the **Google** website.

[google]: https://www.google.com/

RENDERED OUTPUT

Images

Images can also be displayed in Markdown. Images are formatted the same way as links, with the one difference of beginning each image with an exclamation mark (!). The link text is replaced with an alternate text for the image, and the link itself is replaced with a link to the image, either stored locally on your computer or hosted online. As links, there are two ways to format images:

Inline Images

To display an image inline, you begin with an exclamation mark (!), and then follow the same syntax as the inline links described above.

This is an image of the **Bash _Shebang_**.

![shebang](https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--ggy90Gr7--/c_imagga_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,h_420,q_auto,w_1000/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/71jsf4ymyf93rz7m45m4.png)

RENDERED OUTPUT

Reference Images

To display an image as a reference, you begin with an exclamation mark (!), and then follow the same syntax as the reference links described above.

My present profile picture.

![profile picture][prof-pic]

[prof-pic]: ./images/profile_picture.png

RENDERED OUTPUT

Table

A table is a visual aid arranging elements in rows and columns. Markdown is also able to create tables by using the pipe (|) character. Each column is separated by the pipe character, and each row is placed on its line. To separate a header row from the body row, you create a row with each column filled with dashes (-)

Columns can be aligned by placing colons (:) on the row separating the header and body. By default, columns are left aligned. Put the colons:

on the left for left alignment
on the right for right alignment
on both sides for centre alignment

The Logic **AND** Table

| A | B | A AND B |
| :---- | :---- | :-----: |
| True | True | True |
| True | False | False |
| False | True | False |
| False | False | False |

RENDERED OUTPUT

The "Escape Character"

The escape character is used to prevent the character which follows it from executing its special meaning. It removes the formatting of the character and displays it as plain. The escape character is the backslash (\), and it comes in handy when writing in Markdown.

\* is used to begin a list item in Markdown.

\- is also used, it's just based on preference.

The **asterisk \*** is used to format text as bold.

To escape a backtick in an inline code, surround it with two backticks `` ` ``.

The escape character can also escape a backtick, e.g. \`print()\` instead of
`print()`.

RENDERED OUTPUT

Note the use of backticks to escape another backtick. This is a special case.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and were able to follow along practically. If you did, you should be able to write in Markdown now. Markdown is fun and easy to write.

Highlighted below are links for further reading.

See you in my next article.

Resources

The Python Programming Language Need-to-Know for Beginners

David Onuta — Sat, 26 Aug 2023 09:00:12 +0000

Introduction

Hello World!, trying to get familiar with Python? In this article, we will take a look at the fundamentals to begin writing in Python Programming Language. It's going to be a fun ride, so fasten your seatbelts, grab those goggles, and let's ride on!

Ensure you have Python installed on your machine.

To practice with the example code included in different sections of the article, launch the Python interpreter from your terminal or command prompt (or PowerShell), or use Python's Integrated Development and Learning Environment (IDLE) which comes along with your Python installation.

Lines beginning with >>> represent the command line where the Python command(s) and statement(s) are written.

On Linux or MacOS (run python3)

On Windows (run py or python)

Python's IDLE

Table of Content

Prerequisite
What is Python
- Python Syntax
  - Python Comments
  - Python Statements
  - Indentation in Python
- Handling Variables in Python
  - Rules for Naming Python Variables
  - Defining Variables
- Data Types in Python
  - Strings
  - Integer
  - Float
  - List
  - Boolean
- Understanding Python Errors
  - Exceptions
  - Errors
- Concept of Object-Oriented Programming in Python
Conclusion

Prerequisite

To have an in-depth feel of this article, you should be familiar with the concept of programming and programming languages. Terms like syntax, statements, data, data types, variables, and operators should not be new to you. Here is a 20-minute introduction to programming to get started.

What is Python?

Python is a high-level interpreted programming language. Its syntax and commands are similar to the English language. It is as though you are speaking to a friend. This article explains some of the basic concepts needed to begin writing in Python Programming Language.

Python Syntax

Python syntax refers to the way Python is written, and how it differs from other programming languages. Python is dynamically and strongly typed.

Python Comments

Comments in Programming are used to add descriptions to code. The comments are not interpreted but are important to explain what a statement(s) is doing in a program. Adding comments can help non-technical and technical people, including yourself (or your future self) understand the process behind the program.

There are two types of comments in Python; single-line comments and multi-line comments.

To add a single-line comment, begin with a hash symbol (#), followed by a whitespace (optional). Single-line comments can be added at the beginning of a line, or after a Python statement. When adding a single-line comment after a statement, it is best practice to leave at least two whitespaces after the statement before adding the comment.

# This is a single-line Python comment
var = "value"  # This is another single-line Python comment

To add a multi-line comment, begin and end the comment with three (3) single/double quotes (''' OR """). Always end with a single quote if you begin with a single quote, and end with a double quote if you begin with a double quote, but never mix the quotations.

'''
This
is
a
multi
line
comment
'''

Python Statements

Python statements are instructions to be run/interpreted to produce a desired result. Each statement gives a specific instruction. Python statements are written on independent lines and do not require any closing (like periods, semi-colons, etc.). Although multiple statements can be written on one line, separated by semi-colons (;), it is not recommended.

# NOT RECOMMENDED!!!
var = "value"; print(var)

# This is BETTER
var = "value"
print(var )

Indentation in Python

Indentation is used to group code blocks. It identifies code blocks as belonging to an object, like a parent-child relationship. Statement(s) in code blocks in Python are indented by 4 spaces or 1 tab.

val1 = 5
val2 = 4

'''
The brackets used in the "if" statements are not
necessary, they are just a way to group my code.
'''
if (val1 > val2):
    print("{} is greater".format(val1))
else:
    print("{} is greater".format(val2))

If you are curious about what you are looking at, check out if_else statements and Formatting strings in Python.

Handling Variables in Python

A variable is similar to a container that stores a particular value. To create a variable in Python, you begin with the variable name, followed by the assignment operator, and then the value to be stored in the variable.

size = 42

From the example above, the variable name (the container) is size, and the value it contains is 42.

Rules for Naming Python Variables

There are certain rules to be followed when creating a variable in Python. Highlighted below are the rules:

Variable names begin with an alphabet or an underscore.
Variable names consist of any combinations of alphabets , underscores , and numbers.
Variable names are case-sensitive.
Variable names cannot be Python Keywords.

Python variables can be of any length, but it is good practice for variable names to be as descriptive as possible. Variable names containing more than one word can either be written in camelCase or separated by underscores.

streetName = "Baker"
street_number = 21
GradePoint = 4.5
shopping_list = ["Baking Pan", "Spatula", "Sugar", "Eggs", "Flour"]
blonde = False

Defining Variables

Python variables can be declared and defined whenever needed. They do not need to be declared initially and then defined later on in the document.

In some situations, using the same variable name later on in the document will replace the previous value stored in the variable.

Data Types in Python

Data type refers to the type of information a variable can contain. There are several data types in Python, but for the sake of this article, we will look at a few needed to understand the basics.

To find out the data type of a variable, use the type() function in Python.

To get help with the functions (methods) available for any data type, use the help() function in Python.

Check out Python Data Types for more information.

Python functions are not covered in this article, but check out Python Functions if you're curious.

help(str)
help(bool)

Strings

A string (str) in Python is a sequence of characters, arranged consecutively. Strings are created by enclosing the character(s) in single or double quotes and assigning it to a variable. Just like comments, a string can also span multiple lines by enclosing the character(s) in three (3) single or double quotes. Other data types can be converted to a string by using the str() function.

myStr1 = 'This is a string'
print(myStr1)
print(type(myStr1))  # Confirming the data type of the variable

myStr2 = "This is also a string"
print(myStr2)

myStr3 = '''This is
a multi-line
string. It
occupies more
than one line'''
print(myStr3)

myStr4 = """This is yet
another multi-line
string. It also
occupies more
than one line"""
print(myStr4)

Integer

An integer (int) in Python is a whole number, positive or negative, without a decimal point, with unlimited length. Integers are created by assigning a whole number to a variable. Operations carried out on integers will result in another integer. Other data types can be converted to an integer by using the int() function.

myInt1 = 4
myInt2 = 10
myInt3 = myInt1 * myInt2

print(myInt1)
print(myInt2)
print("{} multiplied by {} will result to {}".format(myInt1, myInt2, myInt3))
print(type(myInt3))

Float

A float in Python is a decimal point number, positive or negative. Floats are created by assigning a decimal point number to a variable. Operations carried out on floats will result in another float, and operations carried out on integers and floats will result in a float too. Other data types can be converted to a float by using the float() function.

myFloat1 = 3.5
myFloat2 = 4.7
myInt2 = 10

myVar1 = myFloat1 + myFloat2
myVar2 = myFloat2 * myInt2  # Operation on float and int

print(myVar1)
print(type(myVar2))

List

A list in Python is a group of variables stored together as one variable. Lists are created by assigning one or more values separated by commas within square brackets to a variable. A list can contain different types of data, including other lists. The values within the square brackets are called "items". Items in a list are ordered by index beginning with the index 0 and can include duplicate values.

# list containing items of the same data type
myList1 = [9, 8, 5, 3, 2, 9, 0]

# list containing items of different data types
myList2 = ["October", 7, 2029, 20.5, False]

var1 = 1
var2 = 3.7
var3 = "This is interesting"
var4 = True
myList3 = [var1, var2, var3, var4]

print(myList1)
print(myList2)
print(myList3)
print(type(myList3))

Boolean

Booleans in Python are one of two possible values; True or False (not true or false, NOTE the Capital letters). They can be used to decide the outcome of several operations. The function bool() can be used to evaluate any value. Most values are evaluated as True except for empty values.

myBool1 = True
myInt1 = 4
myFloat2 = 4.7

if (myInt1 < myFloat2):
    print(myBool1)
else:  # Expression is False
    print(False)

Understanding Python Errors

There are at least two kinds of errors in Python, Syntax errors and Exceptions.

Errors

Syntax errors are raised when there's a mistake in the written program. Mistakes such as a wrong indentation, using a wrong variable name, and the like can result in a syntax error.

Exceptions

Exceptions on the other hand are detected during execution of the program. The program must have already passed the syntax checking before exceptions are raised.

As seen from the images above, the error message tells you what kind of error has been made, and sometimes even suggests possible corrections. It also tells you what file and line number the error was raised from.

Concept of Object-Oriented Programming in Python

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) refers to the logic of each element operating as a first-level element. This means that each element is on the first rank in the hierarchy of things. Two terms you would notice in OOP are Classes and Objects. A common example is "An Architect drawing a building plan", after drawing the plan, different structures can be built from it. The plan is referred to as the Class , while the structures built from the plan are referred to as Objects.

Elements include variables, loops, control structures, functions, modules, and even classes and objects.

Check out Python OOP to know more.

Conclusion

Whew! Was that a lot to take in? It was an interesting ride, yeah?

I expect us to be warmed up and excited about Python by now, I certainly am. After completing this article, we should feel confident about Python syntax, variables, data types, errors, and OOP. To improve on what you already know, go through the resources provided below.

Now go type some Python code.

DEV Community: David Onuta

Working with Git & GitHub

Introduction

Table of Content

Prerequisite

What is Git?

What is GitHub?

Creating a GitHub Repository

Git first steps

Setting your email and name

Initialising/Cloning a repository

GitHub Desktop first steps

Creating/Cloning a repository

Creating a README.md file

Understanding Basic Commands (add, commit, and push)

add

commit

push

Conclusion

Resources

How to Write Markdown

Introduction

Table of Content

Prerequisite

What is Markdown?

Formatting in Markdown

Headers

Paragraphs

Bold

Italics

Lists

Ordered Lists

Unordered Lists

Code

Inline Code

Multi-line Code

Blockquotes

Links

Inline Links

Reference Links

Images

Inline Images

Reference Images

Table

The "Escape Character"

Conclusion

Resources

The Python Programming Language Need-to-Know for Beginners

Introduction

Table of Content

Prerequisite

What is Python?

Python Syntax

Python Comments

Python Statements

Indentation in Python

Handling Variables in Python

Rules for Naming Python Variables

Defining Variables

Data Types in Python

Strings

Integer

Float

List

Boolean

Understanding Python Errors

Errors

Exceptions

Concept of Object-Oriented Programming in Python

Conclusion

Creating a `README.md` file

Understanding Basic Commands (`add`, `commit`, and `push`)

`add`

`commit`

`push`