Week 5: Introduction to Using Git

DATA 510: Data Science Capstone

Author
Affiliation

Lucas P. Cordova, Ph.D.

Willamette University

Published

June 8, 2026

Abstract

Week 5 companion session: Git for DS3 capstone repos. Deliverable formats (Quarto encouraged, PDF milestones always accepted), solo and team workflows, install on macOS and Windows, clone, commit, push, collaborating on shared files, merges, a brief intro to branches and pull requests, and a hands-on exercise: render the write-up skeleton to PDF, push to GitHub, and submit on Canvas.

Learning Objectives

Today’s Objectives

What You Will Leave With

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Explain why Git is the audit trail for capstone deliverables and weekly DS3 work.
  2. Install and verify Git on macOS or Windows.
  3. Clone your project repo, commit changes, and push to GitHub.
  4. Choose a sane solo or team workflow for milestone files in deliverables/.
  5. Describe what merges can and cannot do (text vs PDF), and when branches or pull requests help teams.
  6. Render the Week 5 write-up skeleton to PDF, commit and push to your repo, and upload the PDF to Canvas.

Before We Touch Git: Deliverable Formats

Encouraged: Quarto (.qmd) for write-ups, with rendered HTML/PDF committed in deliverables/ (see the Block 1 lecture today).

Also permitted: Google Docs, Microsoft Word, LaTeX, or any editor that exports PDF. Drop the PDF (and optional source) in the correct milestone folder:

deliverables/M1-proposal/
deliverables/M2-data-summary/
deliverables/M3-poster-draft/
deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/
deliverables/M5-final/

Git still tracks whatever you commit. I grade the milestone artifact, not your toolchain religion.

Part 1: Why Git for This Course

Git for the Capstone

What Git Gives You

Your DS3 repo is not just file storage. Git is a time machine and evidence log:

  • Peer POs and I can see what changed between Iteration Reviews.
  • You can recover last Tuesday’s notebook when tonight’s refactor breaks everything.
  • Team members can work in parallel without emailing final_v2_REAL.pdf.

Course weight: Git workflow is part of Project process and practices (5%) on the syllabus. Commit quality matters weekly, especially in the last five weeks.

GitHub vs Git

Term What it is
Git Version control on your machine (commits, history, merges)
GitHub Hosting + collaboration (remote repo, access control, pull requests)

You run Git locally. You push to GitHub so collaborators, peer POs, and I can read your repo.

Where Git Fits in DS3

Charter, backlog, code, notebooks, and deliverables/ all live in one repo. Commit often so the story is visible.

Part 2: Solo Workflow

Solo Git Workflow

Solo: One Person, One Repo

You are the only author. Workflow is linear:

Rule: If it took more than 30 minutes and you might need it back, commit. Small commits beat heroic Sunday dumps.

Solo: What to Commit Each Week

Minimum rhythm I expect:

  • README.md Iteration Review before class
  • Progress on src/, notebooks/, or data/processed/ as appropriate
  • Milestone PDFs (and .qmd source if you use Quarto) under deliverables/
  • CHARTER.md / BACKLOG.md updates when they change

Do not commit: secrets, huge raw data (check .gitignore), .quarto/ cache, personal notes outside the repo structure.

Solo: Typical Session

cd ~/path/to/your-ds3-repo
git status
git add deliverables/M2-data-summary/data-summary.pdf
git add README.md
git commit -m "M2: data summary PDF and week 6 iteration review"
git push

Write commit messages a peer could understand in one line. fixed stuff is not a message.

Part 3: Team Workflow

Team Git Workflow

Teams of 2 or 3: Same Repo, Shared History

One GitHub repo per project. Everyone clones the same remote. You coordinate so two people do not silently overwrite each other’s work on main.

Before you edit: git pull. After you finish a logical chunk: git add, git commit, git push.

Splitting Work Without Collisions

Strategy When to use
Different files Teo owns src/ingest/, Ben owns notebooks/03_viz.ipynb
Quarto includes One writeup.qmd; each person edits _sections/methods.qmd, _sections/results.qmd
Different milestone folders One person leads M2 data doc, another M3 poster (still review together)
Take turns on main Pull, edit, push quickly; communicate in #standup

If two people edit the same line of the same file without pulling, Git will ask you to merge.

Quarto Teams: Prefer Includes

From the Quarto lecture: split large write-ups with include shortcodes (each teammate owns a section file):

{{< include _sections/methods.qmd >}}

Parent writeup.qmd stays stable; merges happen in smaller files. Fewer conflicts than one 3,000-line document.

Word / Google Docs Teams

If you write in Word or export from Google Docs:

  • One person owns integration each week (downloads PDF, places in deliverables/, commits).
  • Do not commit .docx with the same filename from two laptops without pulling first.
  • PDF is the submission artifact; source docs can live in Drive if your team prefers, but the repo PDF must be current for graders.

Part 4: Install Git

Install Git

macOS Installation

Option A (recommended): Install Xcode Command Line Tools (includes Git):

xcode-select --install

Option B: Install Homebrew then:

brew install git

Verify:

git --version

Windows Installation

  1. Download Git for Windows from git-scm.com/download/win
  2. Run the installer (defaults are fine for this course; Git Bash and Git from the command line are useful)
  3. Open Git Bash or PowerShell:
git --version

Optional: GitHub Desktop for a GUI. I still want you comfortable with commit / push in the terminal for README reproducibility.

First-Time Git Identity

Set once per machine (use your Willamette email):

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@willamette.edu"

VS Code Integration

Install the Git built-in features (and GitHub Pull Requests extension if you use PRs). Source Control panel shows changed files; integrated terminal runs the same commands below.

Part 5: Clone, Commit, Push

Git Essentials

Clone Your Project Repo

After you create a repo from the DS3 template on GitHub:

cd ~/Projects   # or wherever you keep repos
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-ORG/YOUR-REPO.git
cd YOUR-REPO

Replace the URL with your repo (HTTPS or SSH if you have keys set up). Open the folder in VS Code: File > Open Folder.

Clone once. After that, use git pull and git push, not clone again.

Daily Cycle (Diagram)

Commands You Need Tonight

Command Purpose
git status See modified and untracked files
git add <file> Stage a file for the next commit
git add . Stage all changes (use carefully)
git commit -m "message" Save a snapshot locally
git push Send commits to GitHub
git pull Download and merge remote changes
git log --oneline -5 Recent history (sanity check)

Commit Messages (Capstone Style)

Good:

  • M1: add proposal PDF and charter alignment note
  • Ingest: AQS pull script and raw snapshot 2026-06-08
  • README: week 5 iteration review

Weak:

  • updates
  • asdf
  • fixed merge

Part 6: Merges and Limits

Merges and Collaboration

When Git Says “Merge Conflict”

If you and a teammate edit the same lines in a text file (.qmd, .py, .md, .R), the second person to push may need to merge:

  1. git pull
  2. Git marks conflicts in the file with <<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>
  3. Edit the file to the correct combined version
  4. git add the resolved file
  5. git commit (merge commit)
  6. git push

VS Code has a merge editor that color-codes choices. Ask for help the first time; it is a rite of passage.

Binary Files: PDFs Do Not Merge

PDF, PNG, .docx, and most binaries cannot be merged line-by-line. Git can store them, but if two people commit different versions of proposal.pdf, Git picks one history or forces you to choose a file, not blend contents.

Team practice for PDF milestones:

  • One person commits the canonical PDF per milestone submission, or
  • Use clear filenames with dates (proposal-draft-2026-06-08.pdf) until you agree on final, or
  • Work in text source (Quarto, LaTeX) where merges work, then render PDF once

Merge vs Rebase (One Slide)

Merge: Preserves branching history; creates a merge commit. Default and fine for this course.

Rebase: Rewrites history to look linear. Advanced; optional for solo polish, avoid on shared main unless your team knows what they are doing.

You do not need rebase to pass DATA 510. You need pull, resolve, push.

Part 7: Branches and Pull Requests (Advanced)

Branches and PRs

Working on Branches (Teams)

For parallel feature work without blocking main:

git checkout -b feature/aqs-ingest
# ... edit, commit ...
git push -u origin feature/aqs-ingest

Open a Pull Request (PR) on GitHub: teammate reviews, then merge into main. Everyone git pull on main afterward.

Solo students: optional. Working directly on main with frequent commits is acceptable.

When PRs Help

  • Team of 3 with overlapping code areas
  • You want a peer PO or teammate to approve before merging risky pipeline changes
  • You are experimenting and might throw the branch away

Minimum bar for the course: visible commits on main (or merged PRs) before milestones. Empty repos on due dates hurt everyone.

Part 8: Milestones and Habits

Milestones on GitHub

deliverables/ and Git

Each milestone folder should contain:

  • PDF required for Canvas-style grading paths
  • Source when you use Quarto (.qmd, refs.bib, figures)
  • Short README.md in the folder (optional but kind): status, date submitted, known gaps

Commit both source and rendered PDF when using Quarto so peer POs can open HTML/PDF without rendering.

Commit Often (Seriously)

Bad habit Better habit
One 200-file commit Sunday night Daily commits per task or PBI
“It works locally” but never pushed Push at end of each work session
Email files to teammates Push to GitHub; link in Discord

If your laptop dies, unpushed commits are gone. GitHub is the backup your team shares.

What I Look For

  • Repo URL works; LucasCordova and peer POs have access
  • Commit history tells a story aligned with your Projects board
  • Milestone PDFs exist in the right folders on due dates
  • No secrets, no broken .gitignore surprises

Part 9: Final Exercise (Skeleton PDF)

Final Exercise

What You Will Do Tonight

This is the hands-on we deferred from the Quarto lecture because many of you have not cloned your repo yet. You will:

  1. Get the write-up skeleton template files
  2. Clone (or open) your DS3 repo
  3. Render a PDF from the skeleton
  4. Commit and push source + PDF to GitHub
  5. Upload the PDF to the Canvas assignment for week 5

Step 1: Download Template Files

From the Block 1 Quarto lecture (course site):

Save both to your laptop. You will copy them into your repo in Step 3.

Step 2: Clone Your DS3 Repo

If you already have the repo locally, open that folder in VS Code and run git pull. Otherwise:

cd ~/Projects   # or your preferred folder
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-ORG/YOUR-REPO.git
cd YOUR-REPO
code .          # VS Code: File > Open Folder

Create the repo from the DS3 template on GitHub first if you have not already.

Step 3: Copy Into deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/

mkdir -p deliverables/M4-writeup-draft
cp ~/Downloads/writeup-skeleton.qmd deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/writeup.qmd
cp ~/Downloads/refs.bib deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/refs.bib

Adjust paths to where you saved the downloads. Rename the skeleton to writeup.qmd so the output PDF is writeup.pdf.

Optional tonight: paste a sentence or two from your M1 proposal into the Introduction stub. Empty stubs are fine for this exercise; I am checking that render + Git + Canvas work.

Step 4: Render PDF

From your repo root in the VS Code terminal:

quarto render deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/writeup.qmd

Or Command Palette: Quarto: Render with writeup.qmd open.

Success: deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/writeup.pdf exists and opens. If PDF fails, run quarto install tinytex once, then try again. HTML output is a bonus; Canvas wants the PDF.

Step 5: Commit and Push

git status
git add deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/writeup.qmd
git add deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/refs.bib
git add deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/writeup.pdf
git commit -m "Week 5: write-up skeleton PDF in M4 folder"
git push

Commit source and PDF so peer POs and I can open artifacts without re-rendering.

Step 6: Upload PDF to Canvas

Open the Week 5: Write-Up Skeleton PDF assignment on Canvas. Upload writeup.pdf from deliverables/M4-writeup-draft/.

Solo: you submit your own PDF.

Team: one person uploads for the team; list every member in the Canvas comment or text box as the assignment instructs.

Wrap-Up

Before You Leave

Tonight’s Checklist

Block 2 continues with data engineering consultations after this exercise. Use Git between conversations, not instead of talking to your team.

Quick Reference Card

git pull
# edit files
git status
git add <files>
git commit -m "clear message"
git push

Questions: Discord #general or #blockers, or grab me in studio.

References

References

  1. Chacon, S., & Straub, B. Pro Git (free online). https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2
  2. GitHub Docs. Set up Git. https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/git-basics/set-up-git
  3. GitHub Docs. Resolving a merge conflict. https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/addressing-merge-conflicts
  4. Cordova, L. P. DATA 510 DS3 template. https://github.com/LucasCordova/ds3template
  5. Cordova, L. P. Week 5 Quarto lecture. https://courses.lpcordova.phd/data510/lectures/05-1-techwriting-quarto/