A little background: Through my teens in the 90’s I did a lot of the things you may expect. I was a script kiddie on mIRC, made a tank game in Unreal Engine, and did some Quake modding. From 2002-2004 I landed a job doing Java web dev, SQL, and overall database administration because my father’s friend needed someone that could do that. I was ok at the job, but not great. Being young, my hobby that turned into a 9-5 made me want to stab my eyes out and I quit.

With that said, I can understand a lot of what’s going on, but it doesn’t “click” anymore. I spent 20 years as a career machinist, but I physically can’t do that anymore. Here’s the rub - my twin brother is a brittle diabetic and can’t work (lots of other stuff going on as well), and our mother is getting old (father passed this year). The only reasonable way forward that I can see in order to be able to support my brother is trying to get back into development.

When I stopped, subversion was what we used. I’m trying to understand Git, but it’s a giant conceptual leap. I guess, what I’d like to hear from you all is a way to jump back in as quickly as possible in such a way that it may be a career.

Thanks

  • wewbullEnglish
    5·
    2 months ago

    I’m trying to understand Git, but it’s a giant conceptual leap.

    To start with, start with just using git locally. Don’t worry about GitHub or similar. Then git and SVN will work very similarly. The main difference is that you need to git add files with changes inside before you commit them.

    Once you’re comfortable with using it by yourself, then I suggest running something like forgejo locally to be your own code server. Then you can play and learn how the two parts work together.

    Generally, you need to give yourself a little time. You need to do the work. Be efficient…sure, but don’t try to force it to be quicker than the time you need to learn.