If you keep an eye on the RISC OS bounties, you will have noticed one for Git. The bounty is now underway and more details are here. In this article we explain all you need to know about Git.

What is Git?
Git is not really a part of RISC OS but a critical tool for developing RISC OS, and other software on the platform. Git is a VCS tool (Version Control System) for storing the source code for software. It consists of some software running on a server and some on your local machine. It performs the following functions:-
1. A Central repository where everyone can access the software. It makes it easy to get a copy of the software. You can use Git to access a huge central repository of software on the Internet called GitHub and the slightly less famous GitLab, where you can find the source code for RISC OS.
2. It allows developers to add their changes to the software and keeps track of all the changes.
3. It handles conflicts - when you and I both try to change the same piece of code, it tells us and gets us to sort it out.
 
Developing software in groups is a horrible nightmare without a tool like Git.
 
Why does Git matter?
There are other VCS tools out there with RISC OS clients (CVS for example), but Git is now the dominant platform and developers are most likely to be familiar with Git.
 
 
Why do we really need a Git client for RISC OS?
To make use of Git, you need a copy of the Git client software on your machine, and this is what we have been lacking. So being able to use Git with RISC OS is really important if we want to make it as easy as possible for developers to work on RISC OS with as few barriers as possible.
 
So having a RISC OS Git client is really important for the future of RISC OS!