Since 2006, Google Code has provided the open source community with a project-hosting platform on its website for managing code, licensing options and community collaboration. Project-hosting websites such as this are important to the regulatory practice of open source software license management as the code repositories that reside there provide developers with licensing options for their codes as they are created.
However, due to the increasing abundance of spam and abuse emerging on Google’s hosting site, it has decided to end its code development support entirely come Jan. 25, 2016. In fact, the site ended its support of new project creation just recently, on March 12th.
Google Code’s shutdown means developers need to transfer their data off the hosting site to an alternate project management platform. This project migration shouldn’t be too difficult for developers, though, as Google is providing an exporting option to the well-known project website GitHub, while another popular project-hosting site, SourceForge, is offering an importing service for the seamless relocation of projects from Google Code.
GitHub and SourceForge are both prominent repository sites that offer comprehensive licensing options and guidance for their users. Here’s a bit of information about each:
- GitHub: Choosing a license is an important step in open source software creation as it protects the creator’s innovation and preserves copyleft practices valued within the community. As such, GitHub created this simple to use web page to aid community members in choosing a license best suited to their needs. For example, if code developers are most concerned with sharing improvements, GitHub suggests the GPL (v2 or v3) license.
- SourceForge: This code repository website offers licensing options similar to GitHub’s. When developers accept SourceForge’s terms of use, they are obligated to choose from a variety of OSI-approved licenses. Like GitHub, this website offers its users the freedom to choose the license that works best with their projects’ goals. In contrast, other hosting platforms—like the Apache Software Foundation (ASF)—provide developers with code-creating resources but they must operate on an Apache license. For code creators looking for more expansive options, a more liberal platform, like SourceForge, is the best choice.
If you’re a developer who needs to transfer your work-in-progress off of Google Code, try moving to GitHub or SourceForge. For more information, check out our infographic on open source forges by the numbers.
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Google Code Is Closing: Here’s Where to Migrate Your Projects
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