short episode about notebooks and version control

content/index.md

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ them to own projects**.
 - 12:15-12:45 - {doc}`dependencies`
 
 - 12:45-13:30 - Working with Notebooks
-  - Notebooks and version control
+  - {doc}`notebooks/version-control`
   - {doc}`notebooks/tooling`
   - {doc}`notebooks/sharing`
 
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ version-control
 documentation
 collaboration
 dependencies
+notebooks/version-control
 notebooks/tooling
 notebooks/sharing
 good-practices

content/notebooks/version-control.md

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Notebooks and version control
+
+:::{objectives}
+- Demonstrate two tools which make version control of notebooks easier.
+:::
+
+[this episode is adapted after <https://coderefinery.github.io/jupyter/version-control/>]
+
+Jupyter Notebooks are stored in [JSON](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON) format.
+With this format it can be a bit difficult to compare and merge changes which are introduced
+through the notebook interface.
+
+
+## Packages and JupyterLab extensions to simplify version control
+
+Several packages and JupyterLab extensions have been developed
+to make it easier to interact with Git and GitHub:
+
+- [nbdime](http://nbdime.readthedocs.io/) (notebook "diff" and "merge") provides
+  "content-aware" diffing and merging.
+  - Adds a Git button to the notebook interface.
+  - `git diff` and `git merge` shell commands can use nbdime's diff
+    and merge for notebook files, but leave Git's behavior unchanged
+    for non-notebook files.
+- [jupyterlab-git](https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyterlab-git)
+  is a JupyterLab extension for version control using Git.
+  - Adds a Git tab to the left-side menu bar for version control inside JupyterLab.
+- [JupyterLab GitHub](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@jupyterlab/github)
+  is a JupyterLab extension for accessing GitHub repositories.
+  - Adds a GitHub tab to the left-side menu bar where you can browse
+    and open notebooks from your GitHub repositories.
+
+All three extensions can be used from within the JupyterLab interface and our
+[Conda
+environment](https://coderefinery.github.io/installation/conda-environment/)
+provides [jupyterlab-git](https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyterlab-git) and
+[nbdime](http://nbdime.readthedocs.io/).  To install additional extensions,
+please consult the [official
+documentation](https://jupyterlab.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user/extensions.html)
+about installing and managing JupyterLab extensions.
+
+---
+
+## Comparing Jupyter Notebooks on GitHub
+
+For this you really want to enable [Rich Jupyter Notebook
+Diffs](https://github.blog/changelog/2023-03-01-feature-preview-rich-jupyter-notebook-diffs/)
+on GitHub:
+- On GitHub click on your avatar/image (top right).
+- Click on "Feature preview".
+- Enable "Rich Jupyter Notebook Diffs".
+
+:::{exercise} Demonstration
+- We can demonstrate this with a notebook that contains a Matplotlib plot
+  (unfortunately the demonstration is less convincing with an Altair plot since the latter
+  is generated on the fly and not stored as an image).
+
+- We place the notebook in a GitHub repository and make a small change to it.
+
+- We use https://github.com/**USER**/**REPO**/compare/**VERSION1**..**VERSION2** to
+  compare the two versions of the notebook, once with "Rich Jupyter Notebook Diffs" enabled,
+  and once without.
+:::