I started my research for an alternative to Apple Time Machine by searching Google for information about rsync, a popular GNU licensed *nix utility. I was hoping that someone had written an Automator script or some other graphical front-end for the command-line program. I always end up in a slightly different direction after searching for something specific on Google; in this case, I ended up on the wikipedia page of Andrew Tridgell, the author of rsync and samba.
Mr. Tridgell is a popular figure in the open source world. His early work on the rsync algorithm is considered a major achievement in many fields from algorithmic analysis to network administration. He has a knack for cracking open proprietary systems for open source usage. He also holds an Honors degree in Theoretical Physics and a PhD in Computer Science, so you know he means business.
So I found it very odd that the wikipedia glossary of references listed an article titled, “Torvalds knifes Tridgell.” I knew that Linux Torvalds, the father of the Linux operating system, authored Git in response to losing his BitKeeper license, which was used by the Linux Kernel project. In his post, Linus claims that “Trigde” was responsible for the BitKeeper license revocation. He says some pretty nasty things, such as:
He didn’t create something new and impressive. He just
tore down something new (and impressive) because he could,
and rather than helping others, he screwed people over.
And you expect me to _respect_ that kind of behaviour?
He goes on to say something very interesting:
If BK was a crappy tool, I’d at least understand the glee.
But in this case it was the commercial people who did the
impressive technology and pushed technology forward. And
I’m just honest enough to be able to say that.
I guess I never thought of Linus Torvalds as someone who would praise commercial work. I was obviously wrong, he just appreciates quality programming. Either way, I can’t appreciate his tone. “To err is human to forgive is divine.” Obviously, BitKeeper overreacted by revoking the license. They lost the grand-daddy of all projects and by now all their customers who have migrated to Git.
Lastly, is it just to write your own utility, unleash it on the world, and put BitKeeper out of business our of spite? Perhaps that was just necessity (sarcasm). Or just business.
Tags: bitkeeper, computer, git, linus torvalds, linux, tridgell