Exploring Github: Developer RoadMaps, Octocats, and more!
Tags: github, codenewbie, githunt, webdev
Published: 2020-08-25 12:24:07

_Github is more than just a place to store your code. Explore Github and use it as a tool for your open-source education and more._

With its first commit in October 2007, Github has provided hosting and version control for developers all around the globe. But I wonder, have you explored all Github has to offer? 

## Learn to Code

I encourage you to go to the 'explore' section and take a look at all this site has to offer. For example, go to [github.com/collections/learn-to-code](https://github.com/collections/learn-to-code) for a collection of resources that can help you further your coding education. 

Here you can find some good material for your learning journey, including a very comprehensive Developer RoadMap for this year. 

{% github developit/https://github.com/kamranahmedse/developer-roadmap %}

## Trending

Everyone in this community knows there are new things coming out all the time. If you want to stay relevant it is a good idea to keep an eye out on what's trending on Github. Choose the language you want to follow and see what your community is getting excited about these days. 

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/errlmv6hxippnvys7c7a.png)

## Front End Libraries and Frameworks

Luckily for us, this community is big on sharing, so you can also take a look at the code for some of the biggest libraries and frameworks out there. For front-end developers, visit [github.com/collections/front-end-javascript-frameworks](https://github.com/collections/front-end-javascript-frameworks) and take a look around. 

There is a lot of good code (usually in their `src` folder) that you can learn from. Find a functionality or feature you find interesting, go to the source code and try to understand what is going on. Remember, this is code that has been revised time and time again by many developers so you can learn patterns and concepts that work.  

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/66p4uzwp014uyixyh3jp.png)

## Social Impact

We all know that a lot has been going on this year. You can see some of the things this community has done to improve the world we live in by visiting [github.com/collections/social-impact](https://github.com/collections/social-impact). Who knows, maybe you'll get inspired and build your own socially impacting open source project.  

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/kd55bau45es35zqy1h48.png)

## Events

A good way to connect with other developers is to participate in [events](https://github.com/events). The next one being 'Demo Days - Using Dependabot to keep your dependencies secure & updated' on the 28th of August. 

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/yxa4qu3qcsph6cchhx8j.png)

## Bonus

Not on the Github page, but worth mentioning. 

### Hackathon

[Hacktoberfest](https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com/) is coming up! This is a month-long open-source hackathon sponsored by Github.   

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/qx4wsfe7iotkp05gdtpf.png)

### Presentations 

Need a tool to pitch your new ideas? GitPitch is a great way to create your presentation in an engaging way. You can share your slides online as public, private, or password-protected. Since it is an open-source project maintained on GitHub you can fork and modify the repo in order to fit your own particular needs too.

{% gitpitch https://gitpitch.com/gitpitch/in-60-seconds %}

### Build your own Octocat! 

There is an [octocat generator](https://myoctocat.com/build-your-octocat/) available on the internet! What is an octocat you say? Well, it's Github's mascot of course! 

Since purple is my color of choice I made this one and have been adding it to the README.md files of all my new repositories as a fun little personal touch. 

<p align="center"> <a href="https://myoctocat.com/build-your-octocat/"><img width="200px" src="https://santiagocodes.github.io/santiagocodes/images/octocat-santiagocodes.png" alt="santiagocodes octocat" /></a> </p>

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