Software fork: Difference between revisions
imported>Eric M Gearhart (Wording and whatnot) |
imported>Eric M Gearhart (Added notable forks section... needs more examples though) |
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A fork can also exist within a project, when code is divided into branches. For instance, [[Firefox]] development occurs on multiple codebases at the same time. While development on Firefox 2.0 was ongoing, other developers were working on 3.0, while patches and support continued to be issued for version 1.5. Other projects have "stable" and "development" branches, where code from the unstable branch is moved to the stable branch after it is ready for release. | A fork can also exist within a project, when code is divided into branches. For instance, [[Firefox]] development occurs on multiple codebases at the same time. While development on Firefox 2.0 was ongoing, other developers were working on 3.0, while patches and support continued to be issued for version 1.5. Other projects have "stable" and "development" branches, where code from the unstable branch is moved to the stable branch after it is ready for release. | ||
==Notable forks in the History Software development== | |||
* [[Unix]] has been forked literally hundreds, if not thousands of times from the original software developed at Bell Labs | |||
*"The BSDs" (FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD) are three popular forks of the original [[Berkeley Software Distribution]], which is itself a descendant of [[Unix]] | |||
==External Links== | |||
[http://www.levenez.com/unix/ UNIX History], also has a UNIX timeline with a detailed diagram listing forks from the original Unix | |||
[[Category:CZ Live]] | [[Category:CZ Live]] | ||
[[Category:Computers Workgroup]] | [[Category:Computers Workgroup]] | ||
Revision as of 09:05, 9 April 2007
A fork of a computer software project is generally a version of the original software that makes use of the same (or a compatible) license, but with a development team that is usually under "new management." Forks usually occur when fundamental design differences can't be agreed upon.
A fork can also exist within a project, when code is divided into branches. For instance, Firefox development occurs on multiple codebases at the same time. While development on Firefox 2.0 was ongoing, other developers were working on 3.0, while patches and support continued to be issued for version 1.5. Other projects have "stable" and "development" branches, where code from the unstable branch is moved to the stable branch after it is ready for release.
Notable forks in the History Software development
- Unix has been forked literally hundreds, if not thousands of times from the original software developed at Bell Labs
- "The BSDs" (FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD) are three popular forks of the original Berkeley Software Distribution, which is itself a descendant of Unix
External Links
UNIX History, also has a UNIX timeline with a detailed diagram listing forks from the original Unix