We have relaunched: What's new at ZDNet Asia?

ZDNet / News / Software / Story

Torvalds looking for new Linux home

By Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com on April 11, 2005

Summary

Linus Torvalds wants replacement for BitKeeper system that houses and manages global programming effort. Development could slow as result.

Events

Microsoft MSDN/Developer Event
25 Mar 2010

One Marina Boulevard, Microsoft Singapore

IT Architect Regional Conference Singapore 2010
20 - 21 Apr 2010

Singapore Management University, Singapore

The Internet Show 2010
21-22 Apr 2010

Suntec Singapore

Linux leader Linus Torvalds has begun looking for a new electronic home for his project's source code after a conflict involving the current management system, BitKeeper.

The move could slow Linux development as Torvalds reverts to a less automated system based on e-mail, he said Wednesday in postings to the Linux kernel mailing list. But it's better to start shifting away sooner rather than later, he said.

"I've decided to not use BK (BitKeeper) mainly because I need to figure out the alternatives," Torvalds said in a posting. "Rather than continuing 'things as normal,' I decided to bite the bullet and just see what life without BK looks like."

Robert Frances Group analyst Stacey Quandt doesn't expect a big problem. "I don't think it's going to slow development, since a huge number of changes are being done effectively through e-mail today," she said.

But at a minimum, there will be significant disruptions for the many Linux developers who have grown accustomed to using BitKeeper to shuttle modifications called "changesets" up and down the programmer hierarchy.

There are more than 10,000 active versions of the Linux kernel in an interconnected system of BitKeeper repositories, said Larry McVoy, founder of the company called BitMover that sells the proprietary BitKeeper software. That's likely to change now. "I suspect that in three years some alternative will become the primary source code management system for the Linux kernel. What that is remains to be seen," McVoy said in an interview.

As the Linux programming effort has grown--McVoy now estimates there are more than 1,500 developers who have contributed to Linux components--it has gradually become more formal. Torvalds in 2004 started requiring contributors to sign off on their submissions, and a more organized bug tracking system began in 2002. Torvalds also has standardized his e-mail patch format.

Torvalds began using BitKeeper in 2002 and lavishes praise on its ability to synchronize the work of numerous programmers without requiring a central repository. "It's made me more than twice as productive," Torvalds said in a March 2004 BitKeeper news release.

Torvalds isn't fond of centralized code repositories such as those using the Concurrent Version System software, though he said that possibility shouldn't be completely ruled out. The leading alternative for a Linux management system is a project called Monotone, Torvalds said.

Why the change?
Ultimately, the shift away from BitKeeper arose because of differences between the advocates of open-source and proprietary software. BitKeeper is proprietary, so Torvalds' adoption of it rankled many open-source advocates.

McVoy supports and uses open-source software, but he's determined to protect his technology from copycats--including open-source programmers. BitMover offered a no-cost, proprietary, somewhat stripped-down version of BitKeeper that let Linux programmers use the system for free. But that led to efforts to reproduce its abilities, which McVoy spurned. On Wednesday, BitMover announced it will discontinue that free product, instead offering only an open-source alternative that's not powerful enough to support all Linux programmers.

"This is not an attempt to extract money from the open-source community. It's an attempt to protect our intellectual property," McVoy said in an interview. Not that he hasn't considered the value of what his company has offered: In a February posting, McVoy estimated that Linux programmers' use of BitKeeper software would cost at least US$65 million per year.

Related stories

Linux contributors face new rules

Data-loss bug afflicts Linux

Talkback

Add your opinion

In order to post a comment, you need to be registered. (Sign In or register below)

Post your comment
Transform your business interactions with real-time voice, video and telepresence solutions.
Tech Vendor: Cisco

ZDNet Asia Live

www.3w.com.au has seen it's outsourced IT Contracting Business in Manila grow at 4 times the rate of its traditional Australian Based...

2 hours 13 minutes ago by brucemills on Companies' outsourcing spend to increase

RT @3wconsulting: Whitepaper from http://3W.com.au "Outsourcing Your IT Requirements to Philippines" now on @zdnetaustralia & @zdnetasia http://ow.ly/1oY9f

Whitepaper from http://3W.com.au "Outsourcing Your IT Requirements to Philippines" now on @zdnetaustralia & @zdnetasia http://ow.ly/1oYbA

Whitepaper from http://3W.com.au "Outsourcing Your IT Requirements to Philippines" now on @zdnetaustralia & @zdnetasia http://ow.ly/1oYbz

Zdnetasia.com Estimated Worth $178,365 USD. Daily Ad Revenue:$244 USD, Daily Views:81,445 Pages... - http://www.haplog.com/www.zdneta...

recently estimated website net worth of zdnetasia.com - http://www.haplog.com/www.zdneta...

12 hours 6 minutes ago by haplog on topsy

When I create an event, I click on an approximate time during the day when I want the event to occur, then I click "edit event detail...

1 day 42 minutes ago by bessellbrowne on Google Calendar gets 'smart' rescheduling

ipads break alott i had one it broke three times in the month i had it so i got rid of the damn thing id just go for the laptop Top Grade...

1 day 44 minutes ago by bessellbrowne on Report: 'Hundreds of thousands' of iPad preorders

There are a number of websites that still require Internet Explorer to view and IE for Mac Stinks (it is really ies4osx which is the Wind...

1 day 45 minutes ago by bessellbrowne on Microsoft: Only minor tweaks in Windows 7 SP1

The receivers don't transmit back to the satellite. Unless there is a phone line attached to the receiver, they don't have any wa...

1 day 48 minutes ago by bessellbrowne on Apple to join the geolocation craze?

What to expect from open source Symbian http://is.gd/aPIGL

1 day 3 minutes ago by rebelk0de on topsy

"Lead Cognos BI Developer Insurance - Jobs - ZDNet Asia" http://bit.ly/bRcxOG

1 day 43 minutes ago by rhrcognos on topsy

whatever little understanding I have we 'll only progress toward end of the world if we use HPCs to lenthen life of human being. Huma...

1 day 55 minutes ago by abhi32002@gmail.com on High computing promises elixir of life

Thanks for the knowledgeable article on SDDs. Allas...when all this reasearch will happen in Indian Universities. Hope the new bill on Fo...

1 day 8 minutes ago by abhi32002@gmail.com on APAC HPC users eye solid-state drives

It was a good article. This brings a good opportunity for Indian IT firms to come up with new solutions in this field. HPC can become a b...

1 day 26 minutes ago by abhi32002@gmail.com on High computing most-wanted job in Asia

COL KR DHARMADHIKARY(RETD) its very late to reply the link, but if it is still alive and looking for opportunity, i would like to know th...

1 day 24 minutes ago by deb021280 on Education takes off in rural India, helped by PCs

It was just a matter of time until google was marginalised anyway. I'm afraid this will be forgotten in China very quickly. Still, it...

1 day 28 minutes ago by robinsmith on Report: Google to leave China on April 10

High performance computing (HPC) most-wanted job in Asia http://bit.ly/9vFC3i (via @zdnetasia) #singapore

He doesn't care if her shoes are of glass, All he wants to see is a huge rack and nice a*s. Sleeping beauty's not awoken by true ...

1 day 57 minutes ago by warlowdavies on One pair of 3D glasses to rule them all

RT @zdnetasia: EMC COO, Pat Gelsinger, on bridging gaps in the organization and its cloud ambitions in Asia. (cont) http://tl.gd/i5jjd

EMC COO, Pat Gelsinger, on bridging gaps in the organization and its cloud ambitions in Asia. http://bit.ly/9etOZW

Asian SMBs need to pay more attention to disaster recovery planning http://bit.ly/bDet08 via @zdnetasia

Asian SMBs need to pay more attention to disaster recovery planning http://bit.ly/bDet08

[TECH] URL Shorteners slow Web redirection. - http://bit.ly/bySnWK @zdnetasia

URL shorteners are great but they can slow web redirection & you pray it would never go down http://bit.ly/bySnWK via @zdnetasia

Temasek Holdings eyeing tech stocks, indicating optimistic outlook on IT sector. http://bit.ly/aM7VwU

URL shorteners slow Web redirection. http://bit.ly/bySnWK

Chinese agencies cry foul over Google. http://bit.ly/by6rwV

all of sg's isps have been practising compulsory invisible proxy for all home subscribers at their backend since many years back alre...

3 days 7 minutes ago by melvinchia on Web filters mean bad news for business

it is not to good for china.
Proactol

3 days 52 minutes ago by nathonastle on Chinese ad partners beg Google for information

IT security insiders rob casinos of $50K http://is.gd/aPIKR

3 days 24 minutes ago by rebelk0de on topsy

Very good explanation of JMX

4 days 57 minutes ago by Babith B on Managing applications with JMX

The reaction to a report issued Tuesday by Flurry Analytics managed to completely overlook some interesting news--the Android-based Motorola Droid outsold the original iPhone over the same period of time following their respective launches--to focus instead on the sales numbers for the Nexus One.

4 days 1 minute ago by lonemavericks on diggs

Another ZTE story....

4 days 3 minutes ago by Moderate Your Greed on Philippines opens bid for final 3G license

Keep up with ZDNet Asia

Linkedin Join our network

RSS Feeds Subscribe now

Newsletters Subscribe today

Twitter Follow us

Inside ZDNet Asia

Special Report: Tech Focus in 2010

Latest Videos on Tech Industry

Insight: Interviews with Newsmakers

Search for over 15,000 Tech Jobs in Asia

Find your Tech answers in TechGuides

IT Library: Over 60,000 IT papers at your fingertips

Download IT Priorities 2010 Report