Today, we will be looking at Git vs GitHub vs GitLab. Well, Git is not a new term to hear for Tech people, it has been one of the most vital tools in software development. Though some people who are just starting out do not fully understand the meaning of Git and also the differences between various services such as GitHub and GitLab, it might look confusing at first but Git, GitHub, and GitLab are not much of a trouble once you understand what are these and how they work.
In this article we will be discussing the meaning of these 3, learn the basic ideology behind them, and understand the differences that make them dissimilar.
Table of Contents
Git – Version Control System
Git which is a Distributed Version Control System or VCS is used by organizations as well as individuals to keep track of their code. Team members can collaborate on the code and coordinate with other programmers in the development of software. It excels in tracking changes in code, enabling multiple developers to work on the same project concurrently, and allowing for seamless code merging. Here are some key points to know about Git:
- Local Version Control: Git operates entirely on your local machine, in that manner, you will have your own repositories, and changes can be tracked without the need for a centralized server.
- Distributed Development: Git facilitates distributed development, making it an ideal choice for open-source projects. You can work offline, commit changes, and then sync with remote repositories when you have an internet connection.
- Flexibility: Git is not tied to a specific hosting service, making it a versatile choice for version control.
If at some point things goes the wrong way, you can seamlessly revert your changes to go back to previous shot of your code. It really helps in making the process of software development smooth. Unlike other version control system, Git allows you to work on different branches and merge them together when necessary. Git can be a good way to debug your projects as you can track along different versions when you encounter a bug.
GitHub
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GitHub is a cloud-based platform for software development where developers from all around the world store their code in terms of repositories and push changes, test, and collaborate together.GitHub is built on top of git, hence it uses git as a VCS and provide users set of features to host their code on cloud and track issues, pull requests etc.
Moreover, GitHub has a marketplace where you can find a wide range of applications and tools to enhance your development workflow. You can also work with others on their project as GitHub consists of repositories that are public, this way you can contribute to other projects. It makes GitHub kind of a Social Platform for Tech Professinals.
Fact: Microsoft acquired GitHub back in 2018 for $7.5 billion in stock.
On GitHub you can perform the following things:
- Fork repositories by which you can copy other people’s repositories and modify them with new lines of code.
- Raise a Pull Request that helps the owner of the repository to merge your features into their code.
- Clone and Pull the repository on your local machine for changes in code.
- Contribute to open source and gain credibility.
Note that, GitHub doesn’t have a built in CI/CD integration, you have to take care of that on your end. If you are a Student or Job-Seeker, a decent GitHub profile and open source contribution can add a huge plus point in your resume.
GitLab
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GitLab is an end-to-end DevOps platform that combines version control (git) with continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) capabilities. Often, GitLab is an excellent choice for organizations looking for an integrated approach to software development. Just like GitHub, GitLab also lets you contribute and collaborate using git’s version control abilities.
While GitHub is much popular among the developers and GitLab is less mature than GitHub, this doesn’t deny the fact that GitLab offers DevOps and CI/CD features that GitHub doesn’t. It depends on organizations which kind of platform is best for them.
Well, GitLab can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure, providing full control over your data and security and also a cloud-hosted version is available for convenience. It offers a single application for the entire DevOps lifecycle, including project planning, source code management, monitoring, and more.
Git vs GitHub vs GitLab
Aspect | Git | GitHub | GitLab |
---|---|---|---|
Type | Version Control | Git Hosting | DevOps Platform |
Local/Remote Operation | Local | Remote | Remote |
Distributed Development | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Collaboration Features | Limited | Extensive | Extensive |
CI/CD Integration | Limited | Third-Party | Built-in |
Self-Hosting | No | No | Yes (Available) |
Project Management | Basic | Advanced | Advanced |
Conclusion
In this article, we looked at the major differences between Git, GitHub and GitLab. So now you might have got a decent understanding of how they are different, let’s take a look at them last time. Git is a version control system, a piece of software that allows developers to track changes in their code, while GitHub is web-platform where users can host their code and collaborate with other developers, and GitLab is a end-to-end DevOps platform with built-in CI/CD capabilities that makes it different than GitHub, but remember GitHub and GitLab are built on top of Git which means they use Git as an underlying technology to track code changes.
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