11 Years After Git, BitKeeper Is Open-Sourced (phoronix.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Eleven years after Linus Torvalds developed Git after a falling out with BitKeeper for managing the Linux kernel source code, BitMover Inc has finally decided to open-source the BitKeeper VCS. The latest BitKeeper release has made the code open-source under the terms of the Apache 2.0 license. The community edition code is available from BitKeeper.org. Does BitKeeper now stand a chance against free software systems like Git and SVN?To offer some context, Larry McVoy, the CEO of BitMover -- the company that makes BitKeeper -- offered free BitKeeper licenses to various open source projects -- Linux kernel utilized it as well. However, later, Australian computer programmer Andrew Tridgell reverse engineered BitKeeper protocol in an attempt to make his own client. Torvalds didn't like this practice, and accused Tridgell of "playing dirty tricks with his proprietary source code tool of choice," and as a result, he wrote Git.

Comments

Re:Not even upset

[Cramer]

Nonetheless, several hacker...

Actually, it was ONE. ONE self-absorbed ass... in a sea of butt-hurt OSS purists would took every opportunity to whine about the use of a proprietary tool.

Apparently at that point, Linus decided it would be better to drop bitkeeper before it becomes too hairy.
In fact nobody was angry at anyone.

Nope. Linus didn't start working on git until AFTER bitkeeper had been taken away. (prior would've been a violation of the free-to-use license) And Larry and Linus were, in fact, VERY pissed at Tridge for his asshattery. And Tridge was pissed at them for not letting him have his way. After having been called out on it, officially reprimanded for his actions, and agreeing to stop, he went right on developing his shit. (and he was pissing me off hammering my server in the process.)