Connecting to the GitHub Classroom

Python

Joining GitHub

You will need to create a GitHub account to join the class GitHub classroom. You can create an account here.

Note

You will need to use your Queens email to create your GitHub account. I will send the invitation to the GitHub classroom to your Queens email.

Git is a version control system that allows you to track changes in your code. It is central in all data analysis and GitHub is a platform that leverages allows you to store your code in the cloud. It is a great way to share your code with others and to collaborate on projects.

GitHub Classroom

Once you have created a GitHub account, you will be able to join the GitHub classroom. I will send you an invitation to the classroom. You will need to accept the invitation to join the classroom. You

Note
  • Remember, you have you join the classroom first to access the assignments.

Then, you will be able to click the assignment links on the assignment page to access the assignments. To turn in your assignments, you will need to commit your changes to the repository. I have full access to all of your repositories, and I can see your progress. This also means I can see the commit history of the repository as well.

Google Colab and GitHub Classroom

You can connect your Google Colab account with our GitHub classroom repository. Here is a link that explains the process from Google Colab. Focus on the Private Notebooks section because our classroom is priva

Here is a link that explains the process of saving a Google Colab notebook to GitHub. It really is rather simple

Why GitHub Classroom is awesome

When you connect to each GitHub assignment, GitHub will create a new repository for you based on the coding template I have created. This repository will be private to you and me. You can work on the assignment in the repository and I can see your progress. All you have to do is commit1 (or on Google Colab, Save a copy in GitHub) your changes and I can see them. Not only that, I can write directly into your code, commit it, and you will see it. I’m always happy to discuss your project with you. As part of that process, I’m happy to help you with your project, and this process allows me to do so very easily.

Also, this process familiarizes you with Git and GitHub (GitHub is easily the largest platform for storing code in the world). Using Git is absolutely necessary for any data scientist. It is a skill that is required in the field. In fact, one of the reasons I code almost exclusively in VSCode is because it has a built-in Git interface. This should not be surprising because Microsoft owns GitHub and maintains VSCode.

I strongly, STRONGLY, encourage you to download git onto your machine. You can find the download here. You can also download GitHub Desktop here. GitHub Desktop is a GUI for Git. It is a great way to get started with Git. But if you work through Google Colab, downloading Git is not necessary.

Resources for Git and GitHub

Footnotes

  1. Commiting is a process in Git where you commit a change to code. Anything that is committed can be retrieved because Git saves a complete history of commits. If you completely ruin something, you can track back to a moment when the code works via git. This is only the case if you commit the code frequently. Committing is not saving (although when you Save a copy in GitHub it will create a new commit for you—which will become clear during the process.)↩︎

  2. W3 Schools is a great resource for learning anything relating to programming.↩︎