Hey, I'm new to GitHub!

LinearArray@programming.dev to Programmer Humor@programming.dev – 1226 points –
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This whole thread makes me feel so much better about my struggles with github as a non-developer. I thought it was just me being an idiot

If it helps, even devs have problems following the install instructions.

It could be for a lot of reasons. Usually it's because it's open source and we can't test it for every possible configuration. Or we are just trying to code, not deal with the dozen other setups.

Me in particular, all my application projects don't include node versions, and assume Linux. Even I forget that sometimes if I'm loading a old project and suddenly it doesn't build, and I have to futz around for an hour eupdating packages.

This is why I was told to always write instructions or documentation for dummies, because we never know who is going to use them and it might come back to bite us in the ass. Seems to be a rare thing, since most of the tutorials or instructions I've seen during my life (real and Internet) assume people know or omit important details that seem minor or the formatting is terrible (use screencaps if possible, make it easier for everyone).

Seems to be a rare thing,

Didn't you know? All the cool kids these days skip documentation and just hang out on discord, where you can get a laggy response to your query about build dependencies in 2-3 business days.

Reminds me how many years ago I was complaining that people would go ask questions on irc instead of reading docs or posting on a forum so it could be indexed. Looks like nothing changed

You took that phrase wrong, I meant about people doing tutorials or documentation for dummies, that’s the rare thing, most are done assuming everybody knows everything and as such are poorly written/detailed/explained.

I try to write documentation/instructions for dummies, because often, I'm the dummy when I have to dig back into the code again after not touching or thinking about it in months or years.

my application projects don’t include node versions

Well, that's just a better security stance against supply-chain attack right there.

I am a full-time software developer and everytime I need to merge or rebase, I Google the commands... just in case

If it makes you feel even better, I'm a software engineer and I had lots of trouble learning to use GitHub and git, it's embarrassing to admit it but I'm super glad I learned!

Git isn't properly taught. I've studied programming both in college and in a boot camp, and both times they rushed right over git, showing only the bare essentials. This left me unprepared for the real world. I didn't know how to do basic stuff like exclude files or even undo changes.

It's so complex, they really should have a separate class for it.

Do you have a proper good tutorial to recommend?

I like the git katas which go along with Johan Abildskov's book Practical Git. I recommend the book, but you don't need it in order to do the katas.

Same. I learned about the 'releases' section only recently thanks to some kind Lemmy user (kinder than some I've seen on Lemmy and reddit discussing this same image, some people are openly supporting gatekeeping of software).