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0 pointsgerdesj1y ago0 comments

A bloke called Linus Thorvalds created git for Linux development when the commercial service used for that ceased to be useful, for one non technical reason or another.

github basically shoves a webby frontend and workflows on top of someone else's work. That's all fine and good but github is not git.

As a professional IT consultant, I want tools, I use lots of other's and I also create my own and I also generally insist on hosting my own. I'm also a fair carpenter and several other trades. I have tools for all my trades and I look after all of them. That way I can guarantee quality - or at least reproducible and documented quality.

I'm sure you are fine with abrogating responsibility for stuff that you are not able to deal with - that's all good: Your choice.

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to say: "Yay cloud"

0 comments

jrockway1y ago

Linux development is also centralized. Instead of Github they use an email list that has patches sent to it. If that goes down, your change isn't going into Linux today.

confooseddd1y ago

You do know what's a mailing list right? You seem to be confusing it with GitHub.

A mailing list can go down and nothing would happen. The main point is to post patches to the maintainer. The mailing list is for a public record of things.

The only centralised thing is repo hosting on kernel.org. And that isn't the only official place, you can get the repo published on googlesource or GitHub, so it isn't exactly central enough.

LPisGood1y ago

I contend that if you submit a patch under any circumstances your change isn’t going into linux today.

Tmpod1y ago

I suppose that's true. In any case, though, getting a backup mailing list going is much much easier than something like GitHub, and you can always mail patches directly if maintainers allow it.

Over2Chars1y ago

I believe he found the open source tools being used (CVS?) weren't good enough, and he started using a commercial closed source tool called "bitkeeper", which rankled the ire of the FOSS community who wanted to eat their own dogfood.

So Torvald's opted to "clone" the features of bitkeeper into an open source version he named 'git'.

That's the story I heard, no idea if it's true.

wongogue1y ago

They were using BitKeeper for years but git was created when BitKeeper pulled the rug licensing-wise.

Source: A Git Story from https://blog.brachiosoft.com/en/posts/git/

IshKebab1y ago

Bitkeeper pulled the rug because they agreed not to reverse engineer it and then someone did.

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