We on the Development Team (Meredith, Sarah, Bob, and Nick) have been learning how to use the command line to connect to GitHub, install Omeka, and become developers-in-training. It has been a challenging and exciting time as we are all entering a world that is pretty foreign to us. We are each using our personal laptops, mostly Macs with one PC mixed in, which has given us a lot of freedom to experiment and reduced our anxiety about somehow destroying library servers/networks.
One of the most important lessons that we’ve been learning (and re-learning) is that it is really okay to fail. In fact, we’ve discovered that failure is a healthy, necessary part of the development process: fixing mistakes and troubleshooting problems are essential components of any successful project. From downloading and running MAMP, to creating local databases in myPHPadmin, to figuring out how to clone a git repository and then install local versions of Omeka, we have run into all sorts of complications. And even though development can often be a solitary process, with many developers working in isolation, we have found that weekly meetings provide us with a much-needed forum to ask questions, demonstrate troubleshooting options, and commiserate over our repeated error messages.
Mastering the vocabulary associated with the various programs and commands we’ve been using has felt a lot like learning a new language. In order to share the knowledge we are individually accumulating (and document our struggles), we created a shared folder in Google Drive where we keep a running list of defined terms, answered questions, and the steps that were followed to achieve certain results. All of our successes were born out of much trial and error so enumerating each step provides a baseline for others to follow and helps us keep in mind that all of our actions are connected to a bigger picture.
For me personally, this process has been an exercise in patience and perseverance. A few weeks ago GitHub and Omeka were abstract concepts to me; they belonged to the realm of the ‘computer people’ of whom I was not one. Now I know not only what they mean but how to use them to make our project a reality. It’s very empowering!
We are all looking forward to delving deeper into both GitHub and Omeka and will hopefully have more to share very soon!
