1. Project Management¶
This week is all about input and information. Great! We explored GitLab, Markdown and refreshed our HTML knowledge.
We had a very inspiring first session. I wanted to start right away, which resulted as being used as an example. My colleague found this hilarious as it’s very typical for me to be so exited and to dive right in.
What is GitLab?¶
GitLab is an open source project with over 2000 contributors maintained by GitLab Inc. You can install and self-manage GitLab Core under and MIT license or use GitLab’s commercial software built on top of the open source edition with additional features. We call this, “open core.” GitLab provides everything you need to Manage, Plan, Create, Verify, Package, Release, Configure, Monitor, and Secure your applications.
Setting up Git locally
To get Git locally, you have to create an SSH Key to be able to authenticate yourself. You can create an SSH key in Terminal by using this line of code:
ssh-keygen -o -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa
You can link it with a passphrase, but do remember it as you will need it every time you would like to push/pull your repository.
Once you have your SSH key, simply copy paste it on Gitlab [in your profile](https://gitlab.fabcloud.org/profile/keys). This way your computer and your repository are linked and you will be able to work on Git from your computer.
I’m new to repository-use and GitHub is completely new to me. I looked for documentation and found this website. It had a lot of interesting tips to get started and help you understand the structures and functionalities.
What is Markdown?¶
Markdown is a lightweight markup language for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor. I haven’t used Markdown before, which makes me very curious. I like exploring new types of code and use them to learn hands-on. I used to build websites as a freelancer in the past, so it’s great to be able to use this skill again and combine it with the Fab Academy.
Using a code editor: Atom¶
Working offline with Atom is new as well, but I would very much like to recommend the app as it’s very neat, straightforward and it has a package you can install to push updates to GitLab immediately. Just the way we like it!
To link Atom with Git, I used the Git package. You simpy open it from the “Packages” tab in Atom and click it. It will ask you to login with your account. After you’ve run through the steps you can pull and push your repository locally. A good documentation to use the package can be found [here](https://flight-manual.atom.io/using-atom/sections/github-package/). Simply run through the steps and all should work!
Making notes¶
To write my notes and documentation I looked for an app which I can use on my different devices. After a few tests with Evernote, SeeSaw and plain notes I came across Dropbox Paper. As I use Dropbox to keep my files in the cloud, it makes sense to have my notes here as well. As a bonus, Dropbox Pages exports notes in Markdown. You only need to remember to change the path to the picture files.
Useful links¶
After a very fruitful and interesting few days I ended up picking up a bunch of machines from work to install my home maker space this week. Corona forces us to work from home and I was a bit worried that following the Fab Academy would proof to be difficult not having all the supplies. But being able to install this maker space at home, makes me super excited and curious for the next few weeks! And of course, Mysa is super curious as well…
