GitHub

Making a GitHub Account

To do the homework assignments in CSCI 150, you will need a GitHub account. GitHub is a platform that hosts software projects and is used widely for both academic and industry software development.

Let’s make a GitHub account!

  1. In your web browser, go to https://github.com/
  2. Click on the Sign Up button on the top right corner of the webpage.
  3. Follow the instructions to enter an email, password, username, etc., then verify your account over email. We recommend that you use your Oberlin email address.
  4. You are encouraged, but not required, to apply for GitHub’s Student Developer Pack resources. (This is also something you can apply for at a later time if you decide to continue classes/projects in CSCI.)

Each homework assignment is a different coding project and therefore will have a different invitation link and repository. A GitHub repository stores all of the files for a specific software project and records a history of how the project was edited over time. More on all this later once we start writing and saving programs.

Joining GitHub Classroom and Creating Assignment Repositories

Each lab begins with a distinct assignment link. Normally, your instructor will share the assignment 1 link via lecture slides or Blackboard announcement. Important Note: due to a technical difficulty, we had to make a last-minute change to the assignment link to lab 1. As a consequence of this change, the original assignment url that was provided in class will no longer work. The new, correct link is: https://tinyurl.com/24fa-150-lab-1-fixed. Accepting the assignment will create a copy of the assignment that is only accessible to you, in which you can write your individual responses to the lab.

When you start an assignment in GitHub Classroom for the first time, you’ll be asked to join the classroom and claim an identifier. The identifier options are based on the roster from Oberlin’s Blackboard – If you don’t see your name as expected on GitHub Classroom or Blackboard, you can skip this step for now and then follow up with your instructor before the Lab 1 deadline. Please make sure you only claim your own identifier and not someone else’s!

Click “Accept this assignment,” wait for the repository to configure, then refresh the page.

When you see “You’re ready to go!” click the blue link to enter your Lab 1 repository!

At this point, you should see something like the screenshot below. If you don’t yet, this is a good time to ask a lab helper or instructor to help troubleshoot. (Don’t worry if you see a light themed version instead – this can be adjusted in Github settings.)

Welcome to your first CSCI 150 repository! A GitHub repository stores all of the files for a specific software project and records a history of how the project was edited over time. It’s similar to a folder on Google Drive or your computer’s file system. When you open the repository page for the first time, take note of its name (“lab-1-hello-world-lucasstudent” in the screenshot above), the “starter code” files included with each assignment (README.md, `helloworld.py``, and more!), and the green <> Code button. Yes, there are many more links and jargon here – We’ll discuss them later as needed.

If you have questions or encounter roadblocks during account setup, please follow up during your section’s lab period. Your lab instructor and lab helpers are excited to help troubleshoot.