Microsoft's CodePlex adds support for Git

Git, the distributed version control system (DVCS) created by Linus Torvalds, has become so prevalent in open source development that even Microsoft has had to add support for it to its CodePlex hosting platform for open source projects. Originally created by Torvalds to manage the Linux source code, Git enables users to easily clone and maintain copies of projects for their own use. Now, new projects created on the Codeplex site can choose between Git, Mercurial and Microsoft's Team Foundation Server (TFS), which also supports Subversion clients, as their source control repository.

In a blog post, Brian Harry, Microsoft Product Unit Manager for Team Foundation, says that Git support was "the #1 most requested CodePlex feature", with developers asking for the feature since 2008. Before it was closed, the issue tracker for Git support received more than 190 votes – now, the current top request on the Information and Discussion page, with 171 votes, is "Add more collaboration around pull requests".

The CodePlex team also note that they are planning "to be much more responsive" to feedback and "work actively on the list of suggestions" from the community. "I'm not promising we'll do them all nor that we'll work precisely in the order of the voting but we will be working to make CodePlex a site you love," added Harry.

CodePlex was launched in May of 2006 as an open source project hosting site where Microsoft "does not control, review, revise, endorse or distribute the third party projects". A number of the projects hosted on CodePlex.com are licensed under the Microsoft Public Licence (MS-PL) and the Microsoft Reciprocal Licence (MS-RL), both of which are accepted by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).

See also:

• Microsoft: open source developers prefer CodePlex and GitHub, a report from The H.
• CodePlex adds native support for Mercurial, a report from The H.

(crve)