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R Workshop

(Optional) Part V: Version Control and Collaboration (10 minutes)

Using Git and GitHub for version control and collaboration in R projects

Git is a distributed version control system that helps track changes in source code during software development. GitHub is a cloud-based hosting service that lets you manage Git repositories.

Integrating Git with R: 1. Install Git and set up a GitHub account. 2. Configure Git with your username and email. - Use Git Bash or the terminal: git config –global user.name “Your Name” git config –global user.email “”

  1. Initialize a Git repository in an R project:
    • In RStudio, start a new project and select the option to create a Git repository.
  2. Basic Git commands:
    • git init: Initialize a new Git repository.
    • git status: Check the status of changes.
    • git add: Add files to the staging area.
    • git commit: Commit changes to the repository.
    • git push: Push changes to a remote repository like GitHub.
    • git pull: Pull updates from a remote repository.
  3. Collaborating with GitHub:
    • Fork and clone repositories.
    • Create branches for features or fixes.
    • Use pull requests for code reviews.
    • Merge changes to the main branch.

Exercise:

  1. Create a new R project with a Git repository.
  2. Make changes in your project, commit them, and push them to a GitHub repository.
  3. Collaborate with a colleague or friend by having them fork your repository and submit a pull request.