How to use GitLab step by step, even if you have never heard of Git before

Less than a year ago I had no idea what the word “Git” meant. To me, it was a rather barbaric term used by developer teams to talk to each other in a kind of coded language. Having a business background I thought I would never have to use it myself, so I never really paid attention to the concept.

When I started working as a data analyst in a data-driven company in 2020, I had to face it: working on my locally-saved files and updating them using suffixes like “v1”, “v2”, etc. was history. Using collaborative tools such as Windows’ SharePoint or Google Drive would also not be enough to ensure the quality and unicity of the pieces of code used across the company.** While modifying and saving your own pieces of code may work for a while, this way of working is unfortunately not sustainable in the long run.** Not only do you lose time to maintain all your file versions, but you also encounter difficulties in communicating with others:

“Which version of the file are you actually referring to?”

“Could you please send me your last modifications via e-mail?”

“Where can I find the “final-def-latest.sql” version of this file?”

These are some of the many time-consuming exchanges with colleagues that could be avoided if only one version of the code was stored centrally. Like “the official” version of the code that is used by other teams but also by external tools. For example, most of the code that I work on is processed by Apache Airflow on a daily basis and is used for colleagues from other departments than mine. This is exactly what Git and GitLab are here for:

• Storing and saving the one and only valid version of the code at one unique place
• Making the same version available to everyone at the same time
• Historicizing the changes done in common pieces of code
• Discussing modifications to be added in the main version of the code

#technology #git #programming #gitlab