Hi there, and welcome back. You've heard us talk a lot about programming and automation. This course focuses on a slightly different aspect. How to keep track of the different versions of your code and configuration files using version control systems or VCS. These are tools that everyone in IT can benefit from, even if it's not just for programming or automation itself. It will allow us to easily roll back when mistakes happen and also help us collaborate with others. You might have already heard of version control systems in the context of managing configuration files or maintaining the source code of programs and scripts. In this course, we'll introduce you to a popular VCS called Git, and show you some of the ways you can use it. We'll also go through how to set up an account with the service called GitHub, so that you can create your very own remote repositories to store your code and configuration. By the end of this course, you'll be able to store your codes history in Git, and collaborate with others in GitHub, where you'll also start creating your own portfolio. Nowadays, lots of employers were asked to see your GitHub portfolio when you're interviewing for IT roles. GitHub portfolios give companies an idea of what projects you've worked on and what kind of code you can write. This course will help you get your setup. I'm Kenny Sulaimon, and I'll be your instructor for this course. I work as a Technical Program Manager for Android System Health and Velocity. In my role, I work with engineering in leadership to ensure that we launched healthy and stable android devices for all of our users. I'm thrilled to be your instructor for this course. As a technical program manager, my main challenge is making sure that everyone involved is aligned on a shared vision. To ensure our project is a success, my team creates a narrative, figures out all the stake holders, and make sure everyone is on the same page. After all of that comes the hardest part, executing the project to completion. To do that, it's essential we have a version control system, where each engineer can store and share the code they create. This lets us track different revisions, rollback problematic changes, and work together effectively. Before we jump in, I'd loved to take a quick moment, and share why I'm so excited to be here with you, participating in this program. Ever since I was young, I've always been obsessed with new technology. I used to fix my friends old broken computers, for a small fee of course, and would spend hours trying to mod my old video game systems, so I could squeeze some more fun on my favorite games. So once I found out I can get paid to work on computers and cool gadgets for a living, I was sold. There was only one problem. When I started my first IT job, there were very few people that, well, look like me. As I started to move up the ranks, this disparity only grew. I quickly realized that this isn't only an IT support issue, but something the entire tech industry is struggling with. The representation problem is something I'd like to solve one day, and the only way I can do that is to lead by example, share my knowledge, and help as many people as I can achieve their goals, and who knows? Maybe one day someone will take the information they've learned here, and use it to change the world. Remember me when you're famous. Anyway, enough about me, let's get back to the course. There's a lot to learn with Git and version control. We'll break it down step-by-step, so you can fully understand how it works and why it's so useful in your IT role, whether you're an IT support specialist, a systems administrator, or looking to expand your skills towards other roles in IT. Throughout this course, you'll learn about Git's core functionality, so you can understand how and why it's used in organizations. We'll look at both basic and more advanced features, like branching and merging. We'll demonstrate how having a working knowledge of a VCS like Git can be a lifesaver in emergency situations or when debugging, and we'll explore how to use a VCS to work with others through remote repositories, like the ones provided by GitHub. To do all this, and so you can follow along with the exercises in these videos, you'll need to install Git on your computer. This will also let you interact with GitHub, and upload your code there. For the examples in this course, we'll show a bunch of different Python scripts. While you don't need to know any Python to use Git, we do recommend that you have a basic knowledge of the language, so that you can understand the examples and the functionality we'll be demonstrating. If you've done the courses on Python in this program, you're covered. If you haven't, that's okay. But you might need to freshen up your Python skills to follow some of our examples. Also, since all the scripts will use Python 3, you'll need to have Python 3 installed in your computer to run them. For our examples, we're going to use a Linux computer, interacting with the Linux command line through the most common command line tools. Again, if you joined us for the Python courses, you're already familiar with all these concepts. If you're jumping into this program with this course, you might benefit from reviewing some of the most basic Linux commands. Please remember, some of these topics and videos are a little complex, so they might not 100 percent sink in the first time around. That's totally natural. Take your time, and review any content that's not completely clear. You'll get the hang of it eventually. Also, don't forget that you can use the discussion forums to connect with your fellow learners and ask questions anytime you need. All right. Ready to get started learning about Git and version control. Let's get to it.
