GitHub

GitHub, open-source software development reference platform that allows users to share, edit, and store their programming code online or make it accessible to multiple users via cloud computing. The website and GitHub app have features such as version control, source code management, and revision control. GitHub’s headquarters are based in San Francisco.

The system Git functions as the “skeleton” of GitHub’s network, while GitHub’s name refers to the user platform where Git developers interact with and share each other’s work. GitHub remains the dominant version control system (VCS) for software development and is often credited for its user-friendly interface. This interface and its open-source design have led GitHub to accumulate more than 100 million unique users and achieve an annual recurring revenue of approximately $1 billion.

Creation and founding

The idea of GitHub originated in 2005 with Finnish-American software engineer Linus Torvalds, who had also invented the Linux kernel operating system. Torvalds was looking for a new system to maintain Linux and created Git (in just over one week) as a solution. In its simplest form, Git acts as an open-source distributed VCS. Older systems store source code in a single location, but Git enables every user, regardless of location, to view a program’s source code, development history, bug tracking, and integration plans. GitHub expanded this idea to create a single public forum where developers can view multiple other projects and improve their own work.

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In the gap between Git’s invention in 2005 and GitHub’s launch in April 2008, new users began to familiarize themselves with the Git system, with their work curated by head moderator and Japanese software engineer Junio Hamano. Hamano volunteered to help manage the project after Torvalds stepped away to focus on his Linux work. While Torvalds is recognized as Git’s inventor, he believes Hamano should get most of the credit for the system’s evolution. Hamano is sometimes referred to as Git’s “benevolent dictator,” as his choices are often final, and he has continued to manage the project since Torvalds appointed him in 2005.

Other volunteer engineers also helped to make Git more accessible for different operating systems and new users. In 2007 one of those new users was Tom Preston-Werner, who was introduced to Git through a work acquaintance. Preston-Werner identified that Git would benefit from a decentralized hosting system for projects, source code, and user interaction. This idea was the motivator to create GitHub.

Preston-Werner was joined by fellow developers Chris Wanstrath, Scott Chacon, and P.J. Hyett in creating the new platform. Using paid subscriptions, the group built GitHub during a time when no other cloud-storage Git systems existed. Once news of the simple open-source Git platform spread among other developers, GitHub immediately took off. Companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter (now X) began developing projects on GitHub, and much of the companies’ work is open source. Preston-Werner was CEO of GitHub until he resigned in 2014 due to allegations of bullying and improper human resources procedures under his watch.

GitHub after acquisition

In June 2018 Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock options. This surprised many developers, as Microsoft was known to be against open source, preferring to have users work on Microsoft operating systems and devices. Although Microsoft’s initial aversion to open source was a cause of concern, the company helped to further popularize GitHub by adding new functions. Microsoft also improved GitHub’s security and encouraged developers to join the platform. In 2023 there were more than 310 million public and open-source contributions on GitHub, and almost 100 million new projects were started. The platform is used by about 90 percent of Fortune 100 companies.

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