KDE Chooses BitKeeper for Source Code Repository

Due to severe problems with the scheduled migration of KDE's massive source code repository from the CVS revision control system to Subversion, the KDE project has decided to opt for the BitKeeper source control system as the more pragmatic choice. The full press release follows; further details on what this will mean to KDE developers and contributors requiring repository access will be posted shortly to the KDE Wiki.

KDE Chooses BitKeeper for Source Code Repository

Yesterday, the KDE e.V. signed an agreement with BitMover, Inc. to allow all KDE developers to use the latest BitKeeper client tool at no charge. The arrangement comes in anticipation of KDE's full-scale adoption of the BitKeeper source control suite.

The KDE project had been using CVS for a number of years, but due to persistent and crippling limitations it was finally decided to convert the massive source repository to Subversion, a next-generation CVS clone with fewer limitations. Unfortunately, due to many unresolved issues and technical problems with Subversion, the move has proven impossible.

"A repository of KDE's size poses issues that the creators of Subversion would never have thought of," declared KDE release dude Stephan Coolio.

After an intense internal debate, it was finally decided that BitKeeper would be the most appropriate choice for a new revision control system, given its proven superiority and track record in the Open Source community. BitKeeper has enjoyed wide-spread success and praise as the official source code repository for the GNU/Linux kernel.

KDE's repository will now be hosted on the same server as the GNU kernel.

"We are glad to support KDE by helping it move to BitKeeper. The Linux kernel developers have proven the reliability of BitKeeper in distributed development and KDE will now be able to take full advantage of that," said BitKeeper author Larry McFly.

KDE e.V. board member Mirko Bohemian stated, "Following our licencing deal with BitMover, we expect our developers will be twice as productive, just as the GNU kernel developers are now." Linus Torvalds was not available for comment.

The only significant drawback of the deal is that KDE developers will not be
allowed to work on or contribute to any other source control systems as
mandated by the BitKeeper license. To comply with this requirement, KDE has
temporarily removed Cervisia from the kdesdk module until the CVS support can be replaced by full BitKeeper functionality.

However, like the GNU/Linux kernel repository, KDE will be available through a
read-only CVS interface for anyone preferring not to use BitKeeper for idealistic reasons.

As a matter of pragmatism, the KDE project believes it is time to move forward and embrace next-generation software source control.

Kalle Chrysler Daimler, President of the KDE e.V. Board commented, "While
we expect some belated opposition from within our developer community to
show up in the next few days, this move was really the only sane and pragmatic choice for the KDE project. We are now in good form to move towards KDE 3.5 and KDE 4.0 in the coming months."