[dot] KDE Chooses BitKeeper for Source Code Repository

[Dot Stories]

URL: http://dot.kde.org/1112318366/

From: Daniel Molkentin <molkentin at kde.org>
Dept: lipra-la-revolution!
Date: Friday 01/Apr/2005, @03:19

KDE Chooses BitKeeper for Source Code Repository
================================================

   Due to severe problems
[http://svn.haxx.se/dev/archive-2005-02/0897.shtml] with the scheduled
migration of KDE's massive source code repository from the CVS
[http://www.gnu.org/software/cvs/] revision control system to Subversion
[http://subversion.tigris.org/], the KDE project has decided to opt for
the BitKeeper [http://www.bitkeeper.com/] source control system as the
more pragmatic choice.   The full press release follows; further details
on what this will mean to KDE developers and contributors requiring
repository access will be posted shortly on the KDE Wiki
[http://wiki.kde.org/].



            KDE CHOOSES BITKEEPER FOR SOURCE CODE REPOSITORY
 Yesterday, the KDE e.V. [http://www.kde.org/areas/kde-ev/] signed an
agreement with BitMover, Inc. [http://www.bitmover.com/] to allow all
KDE developers to use their latest BitKeeper client tool at no charge. 
The arrangement comes in anticipation of KDE's full-scale adoption of
the BitKeeper source control suite.
     The KDE project had been using CVS for a number of years, but due
to persistent and crippling limitations it was finally decided to
convert the massive source repository to Subversion, a next-generation
CVS clone with fewer limitations.  Unfortunately, due to many unresolved
issues and technical problems with Subversion, the move has proven
impossible.

     "A repository of KDE's size poses issues that the creators of
Subversion would never have thought of," declared KDE release dude
Stephan Coolio.

     After an intense internal debate, it was finally decided that
BitKeeper would be the most appropriate choice for a new revision
control system, given its proven superiority and track record in the
Open Source community.  BitKeeper has enjoyed wide-spread success and
praise as the official source code repository for the GNU/Linux kernel.

     KDE's repository will now be hosted on the same server as the GNU
kernel.
 "We are glad to support KDE by helping it move to BitKeeper. The Linux
kernel developers have proven the reliability of BitKeeper in
distributed development and KDE will now be able to take full advantage
of that," said BitKeeper author Larry McFly.

     KDE e.V. board member Mirko Bohemian stated, "Following our
licencing deal with BitMover, we expect our developers will be twice as
productive, just as the GNU kernel developers are now." Linus Torvalds
was not available for comment.

     The only significant drawback of the deal is that KDE developers
will not be allowed to work on or contribute to any other source control
systems as mandated by the BitKeeper license. To comply with this
requirement, KDE has temporarily removed Cervisia
[http://www.kde.org/apps/cervisia/] from the kdesdk module until the CVS
support can be replaced by full BitKeeper functionality.

     However, like the GNU/Linux kernel repository, KDE will be
available through a read-only CVS interface for anyone preferring not to
use BitKeeper for idealistic reasons.

     As a matter of pragmaticism, the KDE project believes it is time to
move forward and embrace next-generation software source control.

     Kalle Chrysler Daimler, President of the KDE e.V. Board commented,
"While we expect some belated opposition from within our developer
community to show up in the next few days, this move was really the only
sane and pragmatic choice for the KDE project. We are now in good form
to move towards KDE 3.5 and KDE 4.0 in the coming months."