Principles, Pratices and Project Management

In this module we are looking at how we are going to work together during the Fab Academy.

The principle deliverables are:

  • Familarize yourself with source code control
  • Setup your local Git repository and clone the lab repo
  • Build your own website

Source Code Control

It is critical when developing code of any sort to many control of any changes being made. This is even more important when multiple people are making changes to the same code base.

The Fab Academy is using the Git SCC which is widely used and generally popular amoung the internet community.

Learning to use GIT

Learning git is as easy as using the Git Pro book available on the Git Hub web site. Git is different from the SCC systems that I have used in the past so it took a bit until I understood how it worked. If you think you understood SCC and have never used Git, it makes sense to read the book. This is especially true if you plan on branching from the mainline.

I installed Git on my various PCs. Note that I used both Git Bash - a command line tool - and Git GUI. While I'm a command line guy, the Git GUI tool comes in very handy when working with SSH key files that alleviate the user from having to enter their id/pw each time a command is excuted on the remote repository is made.


Building the Course Website

The website I'll be using for the course is built on the Bootstrap. This is an HTML templating system that provides lots of boilerplate HTML/CSS/Javascript so one can quicky generate a dynamic website that works across a variety of interfaces.

Bootstrap was mentioned during the first lecture and I had never heard of it as I am more familar with CMS specifically Plone. Bootstrap is obviously not a CMS but does provide a way of building attractive dynamic sites without investing tremdous energy in understanding an entire application framework.

I'll be continuing to work on the site during the course adding new content for each module we cover as well as lots of information for the final project.
In passing, I should also mention that my fellow classmates drew my attention the 'Atom' editor and it has been a real pleasure using it.