GitHub: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:28, 3 September 2021

Revision as of 14:44, 3 September 2021

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From 2012, [[Microsoft]] became a significant user of GitHub, using it to host open-source projects and development tools such as [[.NET Core]], [[Chakra (JavaScript engine)|Chakra Core]], [[MSBuild]], [[PowerShell]], [[Microsoft PowerToys|PowerToys]], [[Visual Studio Code]], [[Windows Calculator]], [[Windows Terminal]] and the bulk of its product documentation (now to be found on [[Microsoft Docs]]).<ref name="venturebeat">{{Cite news|date=June 4, 2018|title=Microsoft confirms it will acquire GitHub for $7.5 billion|language=en-US|work=VentureBeat|url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-confirms-it-will-acquire-github-for-7-5-billion/|access-date=June 4, 2018|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112023152/https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-confirms-it-will-acquire-github-for-7-5-billion/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1"/>

On June 4, 2018, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire GitHub for US$7.5 billion. The deal closed on October 26, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/26/17954714/microsoft-github-deal-acquisition-complete |title=Microsoft completes GitHub acquisition |publisher=Vox |website=[[The Verge]] |first=Tom |last=Warren |date=2018-10-26 |access-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109030720/https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/26/17954714/microsoft-github-deal-acquisition-complete |url-status=live }}</ref> GitHub continued to operate independently as a community, platform and business.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.microsoft.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-to-acquire-github-for-7-5-billion/|title=Microsoft to acquire GitHub for $7.5 billion|date=2018-06-04|website=Stories|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-22|archive-date=June 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604142244/https://news.microsoft.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-to-acquire-github-for-7-5-billion/|url-status=live}}</ref> Under Microsoft, the service was led by [[Xamarin]]'s [[Nat Friedman]], reporting to [[Scott Guthrie]], executive vice president of Microsoft Cloud and AI. GitHub's CEO, Chris Wanstrath, was retained as a "technical fellow"," also reporting to Guthrie.

There have been concerns from developers Kyle Simpson, [[JavaScript]] trainer and author, and Rafael Laguna, CEO at [[Open-Xchange]] over Microsoft's purchase, citing uneasiness over Microsoft's handling of previous acquisitions, such as [[Microsoft Mobile|Nokia's mobile business]] or [[Skype]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/18/17474284/microsoft-github-acquisition-developer-reaction|title=Here's what GitHub developers really think about Microsoft's acquisition|last=Warren|first=Tom|work=The Verge|access-date=August 22, 2018|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031637/https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/18/17474284/microsoft-github-acquisition-developer-reaction|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/analysis/3033566/microsoft-has-snapped-up-github-and-the-internet-has-feelings|title=Microsoft has snapped up GitHub and the internet has feelings {{!}} TheINQUIRER|last=Merriman|first=Chris|work=The Inquirer|access-date=August 22, 2018|language=en|archive-date=December 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219195845/https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/analysis/3033566/microsoft-has-snapped-up-github-and-the-internet-has-feelings|url-status=unfit}}</ref>

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Projects on GitHub.com can be accessed and managed using the standard [[Git]] command-line interface; all standard Git commands work with it. GitHub.com also allows users to browse public repositories on the site. Multiple desktop clients and Git [[Plug-in (computing)|plugins]] are also available. The site provides [[social networking]]-like functions such as feeds, followers, wikis (using [[wiki software]] called [[Gollum Wiki|Gollum]]) and a [[Collaboration graph|social network graph]] to display how developers work on their versions ("[[fork (software development)|forks]]") of a repository and what fork (and branch within that fork) is newest.

Anyone can browse and download public repositories but only registered users can contribute content to repositories. With a registered user account, users are able to have discussions, manage repositories, submit contributions to others' repositories, and [[code review|review changes to code]]. GitHub.com began offering unlimited private repositories at no cost in January 2019 (limited to three contributors per project). Previously, only public repositories were free.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2019/01/07/microsoft-github-free-code-projects-small-teams-repositories/|title=Microsoft-Owned GitHub Just Made It Free for Coders to Keep Projects Private in Small Teams|website=Fortune|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322042200/https://fortune.com/2019/01/07/microsoft-github-free-code-projects-small-teams-repositories/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/github-is-giving-free-users-unlimited-private-repositories/|title=GitHub is giving free users unlimited private repositories|last=Zhou|first=Marrian|website=CNET|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322042228/https://www.cnet.com/news/github-is-giving-free-users-unlimited-private-repositories/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/github-adds-free-private-repositories-2019-1|title=GitHub makes its first major move since Microsoft bought it for $7.5 billion — and it's something customers have long been asking for|last=Chan|first=Rosalie|website=Business Insider|access-date=2019-06-13|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322042218/https://www.businessinsider.com/github-adds-free-private-repositories-2019-1|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 14, 2020, GitHub made "all of the core GitHub features" free for everyone, including "private repositories with unlimited collaborators"."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://github.blog/2020-04-14-github-is-now-free-for-teams/| title=GitHub is now free for teams | first=Nat| last=Friedman| website=github.blog| archive-date=14 April 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414193839/https://github.blog/2020-04-14-github-is-now-free-for-teams/| url-status=live}}</ref>

The fundamental software that underpins GitHub is [[Git]] itself, written by [[Linus Torvalds]], creator of Linux. The additional software that provides the GitHub user interface was written using [[Ruby on Rails]] and [[Erlang (programming language)|Erlang]] by GitHub, Inc. developers Wanstrath,<ref name="wanstrathinterview">{{cite web |url = http://doeswhat.com/2012/03/06/interview-with-chris-wanstrath-github/ |title = Interview with Chris Wanstrath |publisher = Doeswhat.com |date = March 6, 2012 |access-date = February 26, 2013 |archive-date = March 5, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130305051939/http://doeswhat.com/2012/03/06/interview-with-chris-wanstrath-github/ |url-status = dead }}</ref> Hyett, and Preston-Werner.

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* Nested [[to do list|task-lists]] within files

* Visualization of [[Geospatial analysis|geospatial]] data

* 3D render files that can be previewed using a new integrated STL file viewer that displays the files on a "3D canvas"."<ref name="3d">{{cite web |url = https://makezine.com/2013/04/09/github-now-supports-stl-file-viewing/ |title = GitHub Now Supports STL File Viewing |date = April 9, 2013 |last1 = Weinhoffer |first1 = Eric |access-date = February 13, 2018 |archive-date = March 22, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210322042257/https://makezine.com/2013/04/09/github-now-supports-stl-file-viewing/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The viewer is powered by [[WebGL]] and [[Three.js]].

* Photoshop's native PSD format can be previewed and compared to previous versions of the same file.

* PDF document viewer

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On March 26, 2015, a large-scale [[DDoS]] attack was launched against GitHub.com that lasted for just under five days.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/blog/1981-large-scale-ddos-attack-on-github-com|title=Large Scale DDoS Attack on github.com|date=March 27, 2015|publisher=GitHub|access-date=March 31, 2015|archive-date=March 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328034203/https://github.com/blog/1981-large-scale-ddos-attack-on-github-com|url-status=live}}</ref> The attack, which appeared to originate from China, primarily targeted GitHub-hosted user content describing methods of [[Internet censorship circumvention|circumventing Internet censorship]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/27/8299555/github-china-ddos-censorship-great-firewall|title=Last night, GitHub was hit with massive denial-of-service attack from China|date=March 27, 2015|website=[[The Verge]]|access-date=March 27, 2015|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043021/https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/27/8299555/github-china-ddos-censorship-great-firewall|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-coding-website-github-hit-with-cyberattack-1427638940|title=U.S. Coding Website GitHub Hit With Cyberattack|date=March 29, 2015|website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=March 29, 2015|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043011/https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-coding-website-github-hit-with-cyberattack-1427638940|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/security/2015/03/massive-denial-of-service-attack-on-github-tied-to-chinese-government/|title=Massive denial-of-service attack on GitHub tied to Chinese government|date=March 31, 2015|website=[[Ars Technica]]|access-date=April 1, 2015|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043017/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/03/massive-denial-of-service-attack-on-github-tied-to-chinese-government/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On April 19, 2020, Chinese police detained Chen Mei and Cai Wei (volunteers for Terminus 2049, a project hosted on GitHub), and accused them of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble"." Cai and Chen archived news articles, interviews, and other materials published on Chinese media outlets and social media platforms that have been removed by censors in China.<ref>{{cite web |last1= Human Rights Watch | title= China: Free Covid-19 Activists, 'Citizen Journalists' | date= April 27, 2020 |url= https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/27/china-free-covid-19-activists-citizen-journalists|access-date=27 August 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200827224311/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/27/china-free-covid-19-activists-citizen-journalists | archive-date=27 August 2020}}</ref>

=== ICE contract ===

GitHub has a $200,000 contract with [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (ICE) for the use of their on-site product GitHub Enterprise Server. This contract was renewed in 2019, despite internal opposition from many GitHub employees. In an email sent to employees, later posted to the GitHub blog on October 9, 2019, CEO [[Nat Friedman]] stated "The revenue from the purchase is less than $200,000 and not financially material for our company." He announced that GitHub had pledged to donate $500,000 to "nonprofit groups supporting immigrant communities targeted by the current administration."<ref>{{cite web |title=GitHub and US Government developers |url=https://github.blog/2019-10-09-github-and-us-government-developers/ |website=The GitHub Blog |publisher=GitHub |date=9 October 2019 |access-date=October 10, 2019 |archive-date=March 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322042959/https://github.blog/2019-10-09-github-and-us-government-developers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In response at least 150 GitHub employees signed an open letter re-stating their opposition to the contract, and denouncing alleged human rights abuses by ICE. As of November 13, 2019, five workers had resigned over the contract.<ref>{{cite web |title=As GitHub's Conference Begins, Five Employees Resign Over ICE Contract |url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evjwwp/as-githubs-conference-begins-five-employees-resign-over-protest-ice-contract |website=Vice |publisher=Vice |language=en |date=13 November 2019 |access-date=November 15, 2019 |archive-date=March 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043012/https://www.vice.com/en/article/evjwwp/as-githubs-conference-begins-five-employees-resign-over-protest-ice-contract |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ghaffary |first1=Shirin |title=GitHub is the latest tech company to face controversy over its contracts with ICE |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/10/9/20906605/github-ice-contract-immigration-ice-dan-friedman |website=Vox |language=en |date=9 October 2019 |access-date=November 15, 2019 |archive-date=March 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043021/https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/10/9/20906605/github-ice-contract-immigration-ice-dan-friedman |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Letter from GitHub employees to CEO about the company's ICE contract |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/letter-from-github-employees-to-ceo-about-the-company-s-ice-contract/fb280de9-2bc3-40d5-b1a5-e3b954bf0d25/ |website=The Washington Post |language=en |access-date=November 15, 2019 |archive-date=March 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043039/https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/letter-from-github-employees-to-ceo-about-the-company-s-ice-contract/fb280de9-2bc3-40d5-b1a5-e3b954bf0d25/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The ICE contract dispute came into focus again in June 2020 due to the company's decision [[Master/slave (technology)#Terminology concerns|to abandon "master/slave" branch terminology]], spurred by the George Floyd protests and [[Black Lives Matter]] movement.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-06-15|title=Microsoft's GitHub drops master-slave jargon|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53050955|access-date=2020-07-01|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043006/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53050955|url-status=live}}</ref> Detractors of GitHub describe the branch renaming to be a form of [[performative activism]] and have urged GitHub to cancel their ICE contract instead.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-13|title=After GitHub CEO backs Black Lives Matter, workers demand an end to ICE contract|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-06-12/github-ceo-black-lives-matter-employees-demand-end-ice-contract|access-date=2020-07-01|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043014/https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-06-12/github-ceo-black-lives-matter-employees-demand-end-ice-contract|url-status=live}}</ref> An open letter from members of the open source community was shared on GitHub in December 2019, demanding that the company drop their contract with ICE and provide more transparency into how they conduct business and partnerships. The letter has been signed by overmore than 700 people.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Open Source Community Is Calling on Github to 'Drop ICE'|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7jpgy/open-source-community-changing-github-avatars-drop-ice|access-date=2020-10-19|website=www.vice.com|language=en|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043019/https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7jpgy/open-source-community-changing-github-avatars-drop-ice|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Capitol riot comments and employee firing ===

In January 2021, GitHub fired one of its employees after he expressed concern for colleagues as a violent mob [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol|stormed the U.S. Capitol]], calling some of the rioters "Nazis"."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chan|first=Rosalie|title=EXCLUSIVE: GitHub is facing employee backlash after the firing of a Jewish employee who suggested 'Nazis are about' on the day of the US Capitol siege|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-github-backlash-jewish-employee-termination-2021-1|access-date=2021-01-18|website=Business Insider|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043002/https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-github-backlash-jewish-employee-termination-2021-1|url-status=live}}</ref> After an investigation, GitHub's COO said there were "significant errors of judgment and procedure" with the company's decision to fire the employee. As a result of the investigation, GitHub reached out to the employee and the company's head of human resources resigned.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fired GitHub employee who warned co-workers about Nazis is seeking legal counsel|url=https://social.techcrunch.com/2021/01/15/fired-github-employee-who-warned-coworkers-about-nazis-is-seeking-legal-counsel/|access-date=2021-01-18|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322043026/https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/15/fired-github-employee-who-warned-coworkers-about-nazis-is-seeking-legal-counsel/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Higgins-Dunn |first=Noah |date=2021-01-17|title=GitHub head of HR resigns after investigation into firing of Jewish employee over Capitol riot comments|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/17/github-hr-head-resigns-after-investigation-of-firing-jewish-employee.html|access-date=2021-01-18 |publisher=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>

== Developed projects ==