Week 1b. Getting set up on Git and with HTML

Understanding the concept of version control wasn't too difficult, but figuring out how to actually use Git was another matter. The tutorials (both Code Academy and the H2M(a)A-specific ones) definitely helped demystify what was going on. Once I understood that Git Bash terminal was just a different way of navigating through and manipulating files, life became mildly less stressful. It's not that difficult to use, just foreign to look at at first. I don't know enough to do anything fancy, but I hope I know enough to not screw anything up.

I had some basic understandings of HTML from my time updating events on a non-profit's website, but my understanding ran out slightly after things like how to italicize text and make hyperlinks. I was advised to borrow and modify the HTML code from a H2M(a)A website I liked. I did so, but quickly realized that A) I have no idea how to set up CSS, and B) it was stressful to comb through foreign code and find all the files / information I'd need to replace with my own. So I borrowed Glenn Bogardus' very basic HTML, and might try and tackle integrating some CSS to make my page prettier later in the semester. But knowing me, probably not. As valuable as learning how to make a website is, I can learn how to build a pretty website on my own time. My concern for H2M(a)A is more about making physical things with the help of computers. My H2M(a)A website, while basic, is comprehensible to me at the moment, and perfectly adequate for displaying my project documentation.

With basic HTML under my belt, I needed to understand how to fold my project documentation (e.g. pictures) into my index. I came to understand that the index.html file refers to all other documents on my computer from its location in my "Krasser" folder. So all I had to do was create a link to the file path. I can do that! When I push it over to the repo via Git, it's pushing the entire folder, not just the index.html file. (I'm pretty sure that's how it works, anyway.)

So, with a (very) basic understanding of Git, HTML, linking to my files and pushing to the repo, I've got a foundation set up on which to display my makings for the semester.