IdeaWazaWiki - User contributions [en]

Archive:Project fork

2007-08-07T09:59:33Z

59.177.39.151:

{{otheruses|fork (disambiguation)}}

In [[software engineering]], a '''project fork''' happens when developers take a copy of [[source code]] from one [[software package]] and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software. [[free software|Free]] or [[open source]] software is inherently prone to forking.

A kind of fork that is standard practice in many projects is a ''stable'' or ''release'' version, modified only for bug fixes, while a ''development'' tree develops new features. This is common practice in the [[Linux kernel]], for instance, but has been misrepresented occasionally in the trade press as the more problematic sort of fork described above.[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041121124609671] Such forks are often referred to instead as "branches" both to avoid the negative connotations of a fork and because it is closer in intent and function to the common software engineering meaning of [[branching (software)|branching]].

==Free software==

In free software, forks often result from a [[schism (religion)|schism]] over different goals or personality clashes. In a fork, both parties assume nearly identical code bases but typically only the larger group, or that containing the original [[software architecture|architect]], will retain the full original name and its associated user community. Thus there is a reputation penalty associated with forking. The relationship between the different teams can be cordial (''e.g.'' [[Ubuntu Linux|Ubuntu]] and [[Debian]]), very bitter ([[XOrg Server]] and [[XFree86]]) or none to speak of (most branching [[Linux distribution]]s).

Forks are considered an expression of the freedom made available by free software, but a weakness since they duplicate development efforts and can confuse users over which forked package to use. Developers have the option to collaborate and pool resources with free software, but it is not ensured by [[free software licenses]], only by a commitment to cooperation. That said, many developers will make the effort to put changes into all relevant forks, ''e.g.'' amongst the [[BSD]]s.

''[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]'' stated in 1997 [http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/homesteading/ar01s03.html] that ''"The most important characteristic of a fork is that it spawns competing projects that cannot later exchange code, splitting the potential developer community."'' However, this is not common present usage.

In some cases, a fork can merge back into the original project or replace it. The [[EGCS|Experimental/Enhanced GNU Compiler System]] was a fork from [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] which proved more vital than the original project and was eventually "blessed" as the official GCC project. Some have attempted to invoke this effect deliberately, ''e.g.'' [[Mozilla Firefox]] was an unofficial project within [[Mozilla]] that soon replaced the [[Mozilla Suite]] as the focus of development.

On the matter of forking, the [[Jargon File]] says:
:"Forking is considered a [[Bad Thing]] — not merely because it implies a lot of wasted effort in the future, but because forks tend to be accompanied by a great deal of strife and acrimony between the successor groups over issues of legitimacy, succession, and design direction. There is serious social pressure against forking. As a result, major forks (such as the [[GNU Emacs|Gnu-Emacs]]/[[XEmacs]] split, the fissioning of the [[386BSD]] group into three daughter projects, and the short-lived GCC/EGCS split) are rare enough that they are remembered individually in hacker folklore."

It is easy to declare a fork, but can require considerable effort to continue independent development and support. As such, forks without adequate resources can soon become inactive, ''e.g.'' [[GoneME]], a fork of [[GNOME]] by a former developer, which was soon discontinued despite attracting some publicity. Some well-known forks have enjoyed great success, however, such as the [[X.Org Server|X.Org]] [[X Window System|X11]] server, a fork from [[XFree86]] which gained widespread support and notably sped up X development.

==Proprietary software==

In [[proprietary software]], the copyright is usually held by the employing entity, not by the individual software developers. Proprietary code is thus more commonly forked when the owner needs to develop two or more versions, such as a [[Window (computing)|windowed]] version and a [[command line interface|command line]] version, or versions for differing operating systems, such as a [[wordprocessor]] for [[IBM PC]] compatible machines and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] computers. Generally, such internal forks will concentrate on having the same look, feel, data format, and behavior between platforms so that a user familiar with one can also be productive or share documents generated on the other. This is almost always an economic decision to generate a greater [[market share]] and thus pay back the associated extra development costs created by the fork.

A notable proprietary fork not of this kind is the many varieties of proprietary [[Unix]] — all derived from AT&T Unix and all called "Unix", but increasingly mutually incompatible. ''See'' [[UNIX wars]].

The BSD license permits forks of Free /Open Source software to become proprietary software, and some say that commercial incentives thus make proprietarisation almost inevitable. Examples include
[http://www.enterprisedb.com EnterpriseDB] (a version of postgresql with Oracle compatibility features), [http://www.fastware.com.au/docs/FujitsuSupportedPostreSQLWhitePaperV1_02.pdf Fujitsu Supported PostgresSQL]
with their proprietary ESM storage system, and [http://www.netezza.com/media/2004/Weblog.htm Netezza]'s proprietary highly scalable derivative of postgresql. Some of these vendors contribute back changes to the community project; while some keep their changes as their own competitive advantages.

==Other notable forks==

*Most [[Linux distribution]]s are descended from other distributions, most being traceable back to [[Red Hat Linux]], [[Debian]] or [[Slackware]]. Since most of the content of a distribution is free software, ideas and software interchange freely as is useful to the individual distribution. Merges (''e.g.'', [[United Linux]] or [[Mandriva]]) are rare.
*[[Pretty Good Privacy]] was forked outside of the United States{{Fact|date=June 2007}} to free it from the restrictive laws on the [[export of cryptography|exportation of cryptographic software]].
*The game [[NetHack]] has spawned a number of variants using the original code, notably [[Slash'EM]], and was itself a fork of [[Rogue (computer game)|Rogue]].
*[[OpenBSD]] was a fork of [[NetBSD]] 1.0 by Theo de Raadt
*[[OpenSSH]] was a fork from [[Secure Shell|SSH]], which happened because the license for SSH 2.x was [[non-free]] (even though the source was available), so an older version of SSH 1.x, the last to have been licensed as [[free software]], was forked. Within months, virtually all Linux distributions, BSD versions and even some proprietary Unixes had replaced SSH with OpenSSH.
*[[DragonFly BSD]] was forked from [[FreeBSD]] 4.8 by long-time FreeBSD developer [[Matt Dillon (computer scientist)|Matt Dillon]], due to disagreement over FreeBSD 5's technical direction.
*[[Adempiere]] is a community maintained fork of [[Compiere]] 2.5.3b, due to disagreement with commercial and technical direction of Compiere Inc.
*[[Enciclopedia Libre]], a fork of the [[Spanish Wikipedia|Spanish-language Wikipedia]], was created to evade the possibility of advertising.
*[[X.org]] is a fork of XFree86, an implementation of the [[X Window System ]] after disagreement with the new license for the final release version of XFree86
*Numerous forks of the [[PostgreSQL]] database have gone on to become successful commercial products such as Netezza's data warehouse appliance and Fujitsu's FSP database which uses PostgreSQL's SQL front end over their proprietary back-end storage system.
*[[NeoOffice]] is a fork of [[OpenOffice.org]], with an incompatible license, due to disagreements about licensing and about the best method to [[porting|port]] OpenOffice.org to [[Mac OS X]].

==References==
* [http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Licensing_and_Law/forking.html Fear of forking] - An essay about forking in [[free software]] projects, by Rick Moen
* [http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html#forking Forking] ([[David A. Wheeler]])
* [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?RightToFork Right to Fork] at [[Meatball Wiki]].
[[Category:Software engineering]]
[[Category:Software forks| ]]

[[cs:Fork]]
[[de:Abspaltung (Softwareentwicklung)]]
[[es:Bifurcación (desarrollo de software)]]
[[fr:Fork]]
[[it:Fork (sviluppo software)]]
[[pl:Fork]]
[[pt:Fork]]
[[ru:Форк]]
[[sk:Fork]]
[[sv:Fork]]

Archive:Project fork

2007-08-07T09:58:25Z

59.177.39.151:

{{otheruses|fork (disambiguation)}}

Inn [[software engineering]], a '''project fork''' happens when developers take a copy of [[source code]] from one [[software package]] and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software. [[free software|Free]] or [[open source]] software is inherently prone to forking.

A kind of fork that is standard practice in many projects is a ''stable'' or ''release'' version, modified only for bug fixes, while a ''development'' tree develops new features. This is common practice in the [[Linux kernel]], for instance, but has been misrepresented occasionally in the trade press as the more problematic sort of fork described above.[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041121124609671] Such forks are often referred to instead as "branches" both to avoid the negative connotations of a fork and because it is closer in intent and function to the common software engineering meaning of [[branching (software)|branching]].

==Free software==

In free software, forks often result from a [[schism (religion)|schism]] over different goals or personality clashes. In a fork, both parties assume nearly identical code bases but typically only the larger group, or that containing the original [[software architecture|architect]], will retain the full original name and its associated user community. Thus there is a reputation penalty associated with forking. The relationship between the different teams can be cordial (''e.g.'' [[Ubuntu Linux|Ubuntu]] and [[Debian]]), very bitter ([[XOrg Server]] and [[XFree86]]) or none to speak of (most branching [[Linux distribution]]s).

Forks are considered an expression of the freedom made available by free software, but a weakness since they duplicate development efforts and can confuse users over which forked package to use. Developers have the option to collaborate and pool resources with free software, but it is not ensured by [[free software licenses]], only by a commitment to cooperation. That said, many developers will make the effort to put changes into all relevant forks, ''e.g.'' amongst the [[BSD]]s.

''[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]'' stated in 1997 [http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/homesteading/ar01s03.html] that ''"The most important characteristic of a fork is that it spawns competing projects that cannot later exchange code, splitting the potential developer community."'' However, this is not common present usage.

In some cases, a fork can merge back into the original project or replace it. The [[EGCS|Experimental/Enhanced GNU Compiler System]] was a fork from [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] which proved more vital than the original project and was eventually "blessed" as the official GCC project. Some have attempted to invoke this effect deliberately, ''e.g.'' [[Mozilla Firefox]] was an unofficial project within [[Mozilla]] that soon replaced the [[Mozilla Suite]] as the focus of development.

On the matter of forking, the [[Jargon File]] says:
:"Forking is considered a [[Bad Thing]] — not merely because it implies a lot of wasted effort in the future, but because forks tend to be accompanied by a great deal of strife and acrimony between the successor groups over issues of legitimacy, succession, and design direction. There is serious social pressure against forking. As a result, major forks (such as the [[GNU Emacs|Gnu-Emacs]]/[[XEmacs]] split, the fissioning of the [[386BSD]] group into three daughter projects, and the short-lived GCC/EGCS split) are rare enough that they are remembered individually in hacker folklore."

It is easy to declare a fork, but can require considerable effort to continue independent development and support. As such, forks without adequate resources can soon become inactive, ''e.g.'' [[GoneME]], a fork of [[GNOME]] by a former developer, which was soon discontinued despite attracting some publicity. Some well-known forks have enjoyed great success, however, such as the [[X.Org Server|X.Org]] [[X Window System|X11]] server, a fork from [[XFree86]] which gained widespread support and notably sped up X development.

==Proprietary software==

In [[proprietary software]], the copyright is usually held by the employing entity, not by the individual software developers. Proprietary code is thus more commonly forked when the owner needs to develop two or more versions, such as a [[Window (computing)|windowed]] version and a [[command line interface|command line]] version, or versions for differing operating systems, such as a [[wordprocessor]] for [[IBM PC]] compatible machines and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] computers. Generally, such internal forks will concentrate on having the same look, feel, data format, and behavior between platforms so that a user familiar with one can also be productive or share documents generated on the other. This is almost always an economic decision to generate a greater [[market share]] and thus pay back the associated extra development costs created by the fork.

A notable proprietary fork not of this kind is the many varieties of proprietary [[Unix]] — all derived from AT&T Unix and all called "Unix", but increasingly mutually incompatible. ''See'' [[UNIX wars]].

The BSD license permits forks of Free /Open Source software to become proprietary software, and some say that commercial incentives thus make proprietarisation almost inevitable. Examples include
[http://www.enterprisedb.com EnterpriseDB] (a version of postgresql with Oracle compatibility features), [http://www.fastware.com.au/docs/FujitsuSupportedPostreSQLWhitePaperV1_02.pdf Fujitsu Supported PostgresSQL]
with their proprietary ESM storage system, and [http://www.netezza.com/media/2004/Weblog.htm Netezza]'s proprietary highly scalable derivative of postgresql. Some of these vendors contribute back changes to the community project; while some keep their changes as their own competitive advantages.

==Other notable forks==

*Most [[Linux distribution]]s are descended from other distributions, most being traceable back to [[Red Hat Linux]], [[Debian]] or [[Slackware]]. Since most of the content of a distribution is free software, ideas and software interchange freely as is useful to the individual distribution. Merges (''e.g.'', [[United Linux]] or [[Mandriva]]) are rare.
*[[Pretty Good Privacy]] was forked outside of the United States{{Fact|date=June 2007}} to free it from the restrictive laws on the [[export of cryptography|exportation of cryptographic software]].
*The game [[NetHack]] has spawned a number of variants using the original code, notably [[Slash'EM]], and was itself a fork of [[Rogue (computer game)|Rogue]].
*[[OpenBSD]] was a fork of [[NetBSD]] 1.0 by Theo de Raadt
*[[OpenSSH]] was a fork from [[Secure Shell|SSH]], which happened because the license for SSH 2.x was [[non-free]] (even though the source was available), so an older version of SSH 1.x, the last to have been licensed as [[free software]], was forked. Within months, virtually all Linux distributions, BSD versions and even some proprietary Unixes had replaced SSH with OpenSSH.
*[[DragonFly BSD]] was forked from [[FreeBSD]] 4.8 by long-time FreeBSD developer [[Matt Dillon (computer scientist)|Matt Dillon]], due to disagreement over FreeBSD 5's technical direction.
*[[Adempiere]] is a community maintained fork of [[Compiere]] 2.5.3b, due to disagreement with commercial and technical direction of Compiere Inc.
*[[Enciclopedia Libre]], a fork of the [[Spanish Wikipedia|Spanish-language Wikipedia]], was created to evade the possibility of advertising.
*[[X.org]] is a fork of XFree86, an implementation of the [[X Window System ]] after disagreement with the new license for the final release version of XFree86
*Numerous forks of the [[PostgreSQL]] database have gone on to become successful commercial products such as Netezza's data warehouse appliance and Fujitsu's FSP database which uses PostgreSQL's SQL front end over their proprietary back-end storage system.
*[[NeoOffice]] is a fork of [[OpenOffice.org]], with an incompatible license, due to disagreements about licensing and about the best method to [[porting|port]] OpenOffice.org to [[Mac OS X]].

==References==
* [http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Licensing_and_Law/forking.html Fear of forking] - An essay about forking in [[free software]] projects, by Rick Moen
* [http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html#forking Forking] ([[David A. Wheeler]])
* [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?RightToFork Right to Fork] at [[Meatball Wiki]].
[[Category:Software engineering]]
[[Category:Software forks| ]]

[[cs:Fork]]
[[de:Abspaltung (Softwareentwicklung)]]
[[es:Bifurcación (desarrollo de software)]]
[[fr:Fork]]
[[it:Fork (sviluppo software)]]
[[pl:Fork]]
[[pt:Fork]]
[[ru:Форк]]
[[sk:Fork]]
[[sv:Fork]]

University of Delhi

2006-08-11T18:24:50Z

59.177.19.91: /* Colleges under the University of Delhi */

{{Infobox University
|name = University of Delhi
|image= [[Image:Delhiuniversity.jpg|Delhi University Logo]]
|motto = निष्ठा धति: सत्यम्
|established = [[1921]]
|type = [[Public school|Public]]
|free_label = Vice Chancellor
|free = Deepak Pantel
|city = [[Delhi]]
|country = [[India]]
|campus = [[urban area|Urban]]
|website= [http://www.du.ac.in www.du.ac.in]
}}

The '''University of Delhi''' ([[Hindi]]: दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय) is a [[university]] in [[India]]. Established in [[1922]], it is one of the premier universities of the country and is known for its high standards in teaching and research. It offers courses at the Undergraduate and Post Graduate levels in most subjects. With the number of students exceeding 300,000, it is among the largest universities in the world. The university recently came under spotlight for its competetive admissions, especially in Commerce [http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/27/stories/2006062716150100.htm].

The Indian President is Delhi University's Chancellor. The University has a history of Nobel Prize winners as its alumni and faculty. It is especially known for its faculties in Science, Economics, Languages, and [[Hindustani]] Classical Music.

==Faculties==
# [[Arts]]
# [[Ayurvedic]] & Unani Medicine
# Commerce & Business Studies
# Education
# Int. Disp. & Applied Sciences
# [[Law]]
# Main University
# [[FMS Delhi]] - Management Studies
# Mathematical [[Sciences]]
# [[Medical]] Sciences
# [[Music]] & [[Fine Arts]]
# [[Science]]
# [[Social Sciences]]
# [[Technology]]
# [[Undergraduate]] Courses

==Colleges under the University of Delhi==
*[[Acharya narendra dev College]]
*[[Aditi Mahavidyalaya]]
*[[Ahilyabai College of Nursing]]
*[[Amar Jyoti Institute of Physiotherapy]]
*[[Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College]]
*[[Ayurvedic & Unani Tibbia College]]
*[[Bhagini Nivedita College]]
*[[Bharati College]]
*[[Bhaskraycharya College of Applied Sciences]]
*[[Bhim Rao Ambedkar College]]
*[[College of Arts]]
*[[College of Pharmacy]]
*[[College of Vocational Studies]]
*[[Daulat Ram College]]
*[[Deen Dayal Upadhayay College]]
*[[Delhi College of Arts & Commerce]]
*[[Delhi College of Engineering]]
*[[Delhi School of Economics]]
*[[Deshbandhu College]]
*Deshbandhu College (Evening)
*[[Dyal Singh College]]
*Dyal Singh College (Evening)
*[[Faculty of Management Studies]]
*[[Gargi College]]
*[[Hans Raj College]][http://www.hansrajcollege.com/]
*[[Hindu College]]
*[[Indira Gandhi Instt.of Phy. Edu. & Sports Sciences]]
*[[Indraprastha College for Women]]
*[[Institute of Home Economics]]
*[[Institute of Physically Handicapped]]
*[[Janki Devi Memorial College]]
*[[Jesus & Mary College]]
*[[Kalindi College]]
*[[Kamla Nehru College]]
*[[Keshav Mahavidyalaya]]
*[[Kirori Mal College]]
*[[Lady Harding Medical College]]
*[[Lady Irwin College]]
*[[Lady Shri Ram College for Women]]
*[[Lakshmi Bai College]]
*[[Maharaja Agrasen College]] [http://www.macdu.com MAC]
*[[Maharishi Valmiki College of Education]]
*[[Maitreyi College]]
*[[Mata Sundri College for Women]]
*[[Maulana Azad Medical College]]
*[[Miranda House]]
*[[Moti Lal Nehru College]]
*Moti Lal Nehru College (Evening)
*[[Nehru Homeopathic College]]
*[[Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology]]
*[[P.G.D.A.V. College]]
*P.G.D.A.V. College (Evening)
*[[Rajdhani College]]
*[[Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing]]
*[[Ram Lal Anand College]]
*Ram Lal Anand College (Evening)
*[[Ramjas College]]
*[[S.G.T.B. Khalsa College]]
*S.G.T.B. Khalsa College (Evening)
*[[Satyawati College]]
*Satyawati College (Evening)
*[[School of Correspondence Courses & Cont. Edu.]]
*[[Shaheed Bhagat Singh College]]
*Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Evening)
*[[Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women]] [http://www.rajgurucollege.org]
*[[Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies]]
*[[Sherubtse College]]
*[[Shivaji College]]
*[[Shri Ram College of Commerce]]
*[[Shyam Lal College]]
*Shyam Lal College (Evening)
*[[Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College]]
*[[Sri Aurbindo College]]
*Sri Aurbindo College (Evening)
*[[Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce]]
*[[Sri Venkateswara College]]
*[[St. Stephen's College]]
*[[Swami Shraddhanand College]]
*[[University College of Medical Sciences]] http://ucms.co.in/
*[[Vivekanand College]]
*[[Zakir Husain College]]
*Zakir Husain College (Evening)

==External links==
*[http://www.du.ac.in/ Official Website]
*[http://www.fms.edu/ Faculty of Management Studies]
*[http://cs.du.ac.in/ Department of Computer Science]
*[http://www.du.ac.in/exam.html Examinations and Syllabus]
*[http://www.admissionhelp.com Online Admission manager for Delhi University Colleges]
*[http://www.delhi-university.in Delhi University Admissions]
*[http://www.delhi-university.in/mboard.php Admissions 2006 - Instant Helpline and FAQs]

[[Category:Universities and colleges in India]]
[[Category:Education in Delhi]]
{{India-university-stub}}