GitHub today at its GitHub Satellite virtual conference announced it has made it easier for developers to either launch a project or join an existing project on its repository and has added collaboration tools directly within the platform.
GitHub is also moving to advance DevSecOps by adding code scanning tools and making secret scanning tools available for private repositories, in addition to making available GitHub Private Instances to provide organizations in highly regulated industries access to a more secure managed implementation of the GitHub repository.
Max Schoening, VP of Product Design, said GitHub Codespaces removes a lot of friction associated with starting or joining a project by enabling developers to spin up a project in seconds. In many cases, he said, developers never launch a project simply because the effort required was too great relative to the value of the effort.
Available in limited public beta, GitHub Codespaces should not only improve developer productivity but also significantly increase the number of projects being hosted on GitHub, said Schoening.
GitHub Discussions, meanwhile, will provide a threaded format to organize unstructured conversations without having to leave the GitHub repository. Scheduled to be available in beta shortly, GitHub Discussions should increase developer productivity in addition to providing a place for developers to maintain a frequently asked questions document. Over time, Schoening said GitHub expects millions of communities to be formed around GitHub Discussions.
GitHub is also moving to make DevSecOps a natural extension of any application development project. GitHub Advanced Security Cloud provides access to native code scanning and secret scanning tools that can be embedded within the developer workflow. Currently in beta, GitHub Advanced Security Cloud is based on security tools it gained via its acquisition of Semmle last year. Every Git push can now be scanned using a CodeQL semantic analysis engine to discover vulnerabilities. GitHub Advanced Security Cloud is designed to be an extension of an existing GitHub Advanced Security service.
Finally, GitHub Private Instances will provide a fully managed alternative that, among other things, allows for bring-your-own-key encryption, backup, archiving and compliance with various regional data sovereignty requirements. GitHub did not reveal, however, when GitHub Private Instances will be available.
As GitHub continues to evolve as an arm of Microsoft, there is no doubt more IT teams will be embracing DevOps. The biggest challenge is often making it easy to get started. In fact, many developers may find themselves unconsciously embracing best DevOps and DevSecOps processes as they, for example, employ scanning tools baked into the GitHub repository.
Of course, no one knows for sure whether organizations will continue the pace of application development projects in the wake of the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Schoening noted the amount of time between pull requests has declined on the GitHub repository, which he suggests is an indication of increased activity and productivity now that more developers are working away from the office.
