Hi,

Just for the record, there is a short supplemental topic on Git integration
within RStudio [1] that can be taught at some point on the Git lesson
(probably after introducing some Git commands in the shell). It could be
used also at some point during an R lesson as a very light intro to version
control.

We haven't decide yet how to treat this supplemental material that
integrates Git with other tools, but I'd like to have a similar thing for
Matlab and another that just uses a Git GUI, so instructors could demo its
use, even if they teach only using the command line.

Best,

Ivan

[1]
https://github.com/swcarpentry/git-novice/blob/gh-pages/14-supplemental-rstudio.md

On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 1:22 PM, Kara Woo <[email protected]> wrote:

> I've never led with a GUI, but I have introduced RStudio's git integration
> after going through the regular git command line lesson. I still favor
> teaching it at the command line first. Knowing the actual git commands is
> pretty helpful -- whenever I muck up my git client I inevitably go fix
> things at the command line. Also, the last time I looked there were some
> things (like setting a remote) that you couldn't do from RStudio. So I
> don't think you could totally abandon the shell, and switching back and
> forth might be confusing. (Though I haven't used RStudio in a while, so
> this might have changed.)
>
> That said, I do agree that learning a GUI like RStudio probably improves
> adoption. People were really excited about learning git in RStudio and said
> things like "now I can see actually using this". So I do support teaching
> GUIs, but I still prefer to build learners' mental model of git from the
> command line first.
>
> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 8:55 AM, Noam Ross <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Having encountered the git executable issue before, at the July 2015
>> Davis workshop[1] we (1) put this in the install instructions (2) checked
>> students' laptop on arrival and at lunch prior to the git session, and (3)
>> briefed our helpers on this issue and how to catch and fix it quickly.
>> This worked fine, as opposed to a previous workshop where we had to pause
>> as about a third of learners needed a fix.
>>
>> Yes, it does seem that the parallel approach has both conceptual mapping
>> challenges and would require additional time. One aid to mapping would be
>> to show how the RStudio GUI's visual state tracks changes executed in the
>> command line  (e.g., the checkbox next to a file will be checked when it is
>> staged).  For the reverse, one would want to type the equivalent command of
>> an action executed in the GUI.
>>
>> [1]: http://dib-lab.github.io/2015-07-06-ucdavis/
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 11:17 AM Kate Hertweck <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I have limited experience teaching Git to novice programmers using
>>> content similar to that included in GitHub Guides (
>>> https://guides.github.com). I also have taught the RStudio Git
>>> integration in a few workshops. Both of these issues hit problems regarding
>>> additional installs (I've had problems with students working with both the
>>> native Git GUI and finding a Git executable through RStudio), which is
>>> pretty demoralizing to students when it occurs mid-lesson. I'm also very
>>> hesitant to teach combined GUI/command line exercises, because mapping the
>>> activities occurring in one to the other is surprisingly difficult for
>>> learners. Then again, I also use git almost exclusively from the command
>>> line. Despite this, I would be interested in developing the RStudio git
>>> integration lesson so students can follow along more easily on their own
>>> (perhaps following a workshop).
>>>
>>> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 9:47 AM, Noam Ross <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I learned to use git via the RStudio GUI. It is not the most powerful
>>>> interface, but it was enough for most tasks I needed as a beginner:
>>>> committing, reviewing history, pushing/pulling from Github, etc. As I
>>>> became comfortable with the concepts and had more advanced needs I switched
>>>> to the command line.
>>>>
>>>> For R-based SWC/DC workshops I have taught and seen, we often teach git
>>>> in the command line and then afterwards briefly demo the fact that similar
>>>> tasks can be accomplished in the RStudio IDE, which learners already have
>>>> installed. Has anyone attempted to teach with the GUI first, or somehow
>>>> teach them in parallel? I hypothesize learners might be more likely to use
>>>> git immediately with this approach.
>>>>
>>>> Two other thoughts on this approach:
>>>>
>>>> 1. While we aim to teach script-ability, scripting git commands is
>>>> rare/advanced use.
>>>> 2. I have gotten feedback that teaching the RStudio git GUI is hard to
>>>> follow.  This seemed to be because (1) this was a less well-developed
>>>> lesson - more a demo at the end of the main git lesson, and (2) learners
>>>> could not follow along via SWC notes or the live command history we shared
>>>> via dropbox.  So such lesson might require a screenshot-heavy set of
>>>> accompanying lesson notes.  Guidance might come from the DC experience with
>>>> OpenRefine and Excel lessons.
>>>>
>>>> - Noam
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016, 7:54 AM Konrad Hinsen <[email protected]>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 02/03/16 10:30, Juan Nunez-Iglesias wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> > I hope we all migrate soon to UIs built on top of git, such as
>>>>> gitless
>>>>> > <http://gitless.com/>. But it's gonna be slow and painful, because
>>>>> of
>>>>> > the huge momentum that git has.
>>>>>
>>>>> I considered using gitless instead of git for my recent course for
>>>>> French PhD students
>>>>> (https://github.com/khinsen/FdV-Computer-Aided-Research-2016). The two
>>>>> main reasons I ended up sticking to plain git were
>>>>>
>>>>> 1) Gitless requires additional installation, whereas plain git was
>>>>> already available on all machines.
>>>>>
>>>>> 2) There is excellent SWC teaching material for Git, but not for
>>>>> gitless.
>>>>>
>>>>> So, yes, SWC is becoming a part of the "system inertia" for me!
>>>>>
>>>>> A problem I see with gitless is that it is technically compatible with
>>>>> git, but not operationally. For a given local repository, you use
>>>>> either
>>>>> git or gitless. For everyone who knows some git commands, that means
>>>>> unlearning.
>>>>>
>>>>> What I use myself is Magit (http://magit.vc/) within Emacs. It's a
>>>>> much
>>>>> more reasonable UI for git, but it's fully compatible with git (it
>>>>> actually calls git under the hood), so you can mix it with command line
>>>>> work. But I wouldn't consider Magit for teaching because I am not
>>>>> looking forward to doing "introduction to Emacs" first!
>>>>>
>>>>> Konrad.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kate L. Hertweck, Ph.D.
>>> Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
>>> The University of Texas at Tyler
>>> 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799
>>> Email: [email protected]
>>> Office: HPR 109, 903.565.5882
>>> https://www.uttyler.edu/biology/
>>>
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