Understanding the Difference Between Git, GitHub, Azure DevOps, and DevOps

From time to time I see folks confusing the products of GitHub and Azure DevOps with the version control of Git and the practices of DevOps. In this post, I will break down terms like Git, GitHub, Azure DevOps, and DevOps to help clarify what each one does, their relationship with one another, and how they contribute to the software development lifecycle.

1. Git: Version Control System (VCS)

Git is a distributed version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005. It helps developers track changes in their codebase, collaborate with team members, and manage different versions of a project efficiently.

Key Features of Git:

• Version Tracking: Git tracks changes made to files over time, allowing you to revert to a previous version if necessary.
• Branching and Merging: You can create multiple branches to develop new features or fix bugs independently. Later, you can merge these branches into the main project without affecting other branches.
• Distributed System: Git stores copies of the project repository both on a local machine and a remote server. Each user has a full copy of the project history, making collaboration easy, even offline.

Git is entirely a command-line tool, though it has many graphical interfaces. It’s a core part of most modern software development workflows but is not tied to any specific hosting platform.

2. GitHub: Git Repository Hosting Service

GitHub is an online platform that hosts Git repositories and facilitates collaboration, project management, and open-source contribution. While Git is the underlying version control system, GitHub is a cloud-based service that builds on top of Git with additional features.

Key Features of GitHub:

• Centralized Hosting: GitHub provides a centralized location where teams can store their Git repositories, ensuring access from anywhere.
• Collaboration: GitHub makes it easy for multiple developers to contribute to a project. It offers tools like pull requests, code reviews, and discussions to improve team collaboration.
• Project Management: Features like GitHub Issues, Project Boards, and Actions help teams manage and automate workflows.
• Community and Open-Source: GitHub hosts millions of open-source projects, making it a go-to platform for collaboration on global-scale development.

GitHub is essentially a platform that makes Git more accessible and adds features to make collaboration and project management easier. However, GitHub is just one of many Git hosting services; alternatives include GitLab, Bitbucket, and more.

3. Azure DevOps: Integrated Toolset for Development and Deployment

Azure DevOps is a suite of tools from Microsoft designed to manage the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC). It integrates version control (via Git or TFVC), CI/CD pipelines, project management, and testing capabilities in one platform.

Key Components of Azure DevOps:

• Azure Repos: Offers Git and TFVC (Team Foundation Version Control) repositories to host your code.
• Azure Pipelines: CI/CD pipelines to automate building, testing, and deploying code to various environments.
• Azure Boards: Agile tools for managing and tracking work items, sprints, and backlogs.
• Azure Test Plans: Manual and exploratory testing tools for software quality assurance.
• Azure Artifacts: A package management tool that helps manage and share packages like NuGet, npm, and Maven.

Unlike GitHub, which focuses primarily on version control and collaboration, Azure DevOps is a more comprehensive solution, supporting end-to-end development workflows including code, build, test, and deployment.

GitHub vs. Azure DevOps:

• Focus: GitHub primarily focuses on Git-based collaboration and code management, while Azure DevOps provides broader tools for managing the entire SDLC, including version control, testing, and continuous delivery pipelines.
• Integration: Azure DevOps integrates tightly with other Microsoft tools like Azure Cloud, but both Azure DevOps and GitHub can work across various platforms and cloud services.

4. DevOps: A Cultural and Operational Practice

DevOps isn’t a tool, platform, or product—it’s a cultural and operational approach to software development and IT operations. The goal of DevOps is to break down silos between development and operations teams to deliver high-quality software quickly, reliably, and consistently.

Key Principles of DevOps:

• Collaboration: DevOps emphasizes collaboration between traditionally separate roles like developers, testers, and operations teams.
• Automation: Automating repetitive tasks, such as testing, deployments, and monitoring, is a key principle of DevOps. This speeds up workflows and reduces human error.
• Continuous Integration & Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): In DevOps, teams integrate code changes frequently (CI), and the code is automatically tested and deployed (CD), leading to faster releases.
• Monitoring & Feedback: DevOps encourages real-time monitoring of applications and environments, enabling faster feedback loops for fixing bugs and improving performance.

While DevOps is a philosophy, Azure DevOps (the product) is a platform that helps teams implement this philosophy by providing tools for planning, coding, building, testing, and delivering software more effectively.

DevOps vs. Azure DevOps:

• DevOps is a cultural practice focused on collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement in software development and operations.
• Azure DevOps is a platform that provides tools to facilitate DevOps practices. It helps automate, track, and optimize the development and deployment process.