[ Thanks to Igor
for this link. ]
“The Linux kernel provided much of the inspiration for the Open
Source model of software development, and the kernel, which is the
core of all commercial and non-commercial Linux distributions,
remains the most dramatic example of a successful Open Source
development project. The source code of kernel version 2.2
comprises more than 1.5 million lines of C and assembly language
code, and occupies more than 54 MB of disk space when uncompressed.
The Linux developers consist of Linus Torvalds, who has the final
say over what code becomes part of the “production” kernels, about
a dozen core developers who maintain sections of the source tree,
and anyone else who wishes to contribute. As tools often emerge to
meet various needs, a new protocol that uses the Concurrent Version
System (CVS) has begun to appear on the Internet to meet the needs
of programmers who work on Open Source code projects. That protocol
is anonymous CVS….”
“The spiralling number of contributions by programmers has
ensured that bugs get fixed rapidly and that new ideas and code get
distributed, accepted, or rejected in hours and days instead of
weeks and months. This makes kernel development a real-world case
study for the Open Source model of software
development….“
“The goals of CVS are similar to those of the Revision Control
System (RCS) and Source Code Control System (SCCS), but CVS uses a
client-server model to provide a single code repository to an
arbitrary number of developers. CVS uses a modified form of RCS
archives that allows for better handling of conflicts between
revisions.”