By Philippe Magne<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>No-one in our industry can have missed the seemingly unstoppable rise of Git.\u00a0 In this article, we will attempt to shed light on the reasons behind its popularity and to what extent this is justified. Then from ARCAD\u2019s unique standpoint as the technology “bridge” between traditional development and open source worlds, we will look specifically at the relevance and the value of Git on the IBM i (aka iSeries, AS\/400) platform.<\/p>\n
On the face of it, Git is a simple, open source tool designed for managing source code across multiple projects.\u00a0 It has all but eliminated its predecessor, CVS.\u00a0 Somewhere between the two, SVN had its moment of glory in the 2000s but has steadily been losing ground to Git.\u00a0 So far, nothing unusual in the technology market.<\/p>\n
So why has Git achieved such an outright dominance? Does it possess some game-changing features that outstrip its competitors?\u00a0 No, that\u2019s definitely not the case.\u00a0 Or because the founding father of Git is none other than Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux? \u00a0This is closer to the truth.\u00a0 \u00a0In fact, Git adoption grew in line with the success of Linux itself\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>
Summary<\/h2>\n\n- De facto standard<\/a><\/li>\n
- “Social Coding”<\/a><\/li>\n
- Git in the IBM i world<\/a><\/li>\n
- ARCAD, indispensable for Git adoption<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
1. De facto standard<\/strong><\/h2>\nGit has become a de facto standard. What does that mean exactly? A tool or a language that, even if it’s not perfect, has the huge advantage of being familiar to the greatest number of people. The consequence of this is that skills and expertise are transferred naturally within the various teams. SQL is a prime example of a de facto standard, the one and only language used for relational databases today.<\/p>\n
In the case of Git, the tool delivers value way beyond the simple management of source code. To illustrate the point, let\u2019s take the most typical case, the management of hardware configurations.\u00a0 Since the advent of Cloud architectures, we only hear about “infrastructure as code”.\u00a0 So, what is the added value of Git in this context?\u00a0 Of course, it is the ability to track each and every configuration change. Some Cloud players could have developed their own version management tool but instead, they each decided to use the prevailing standard.<\/p>\n
But there is an even more symbolic example.\u00a0 Undeniably, Microsoft \u2013 whatever you may say or think \u2013 is one of the main players in software development tooling, and the software giant from Redmond adopted Git as standard many years ago now.\u00a0 Microsoft\u2019s endorsement of Git reached a whole new level when the company acquired GitHub in 2019.\u00a0 Was this a technology-motivated acquisition?\u00a0 Definitely not.\u00a0 Microsoft could have very quickly developed an equivalent product. The attraction was GitHub\u2019s community of 32 million developers and the prospect of being able to influence their technology choices.<\/p>\n
Git\u2019s success would not have been so massive without its commercial offshoots and hosting services: GitHub, Bitbucket and GitLab. Using Git on the command-line may suit the student or geek, but when it comes to establishing Git as enterprise standard in your company, it is far safer to opt for a richer Web interface along with all the necessary security aspects such as integration with an organization\u2019s single-sign on solutions.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n2. “Social coding”<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhat changes have the “social coding” tools really introduced?\u00a0 Nothing less than a radical change in developer behaviour.\u00a0 Developers are no longer alone in their corner.\u00a0 They are both part of an individual team but also part of a global network.\u00a0 They have also become much more extrovert than before.\u00a0 They learn and improve by sharing ideas and code much more readily with their peers.\u00a0 This sharing has become a key factor in both quality and productivity of a final solution they are building together.\u00a0 The old era when a developer would individually lock him or herself away for a number of days to finalize their algorithm is (almost) over.<\/p>\n
Some large groups purchase social coding tools without even questioning their ability to implement them in their organization, simply because they act as a platform for attracting new developers.\u00a0 In these days of digital transformation, the competition between companies to recruit and retain developers is becoming more and more fierce.\u00a0 Creating a user-friendly and above all a familiar hosting environment does not do the whole recruiting job for you, but it certainly paves the way.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
No-one in our industry can have missed the seemingly unstoppable rise of Git.\u00a0 In this article, we will attempt to shed light on the reasons behind its popularity and to what extent this is justified. Then from ARCAD\u2019s unique standpoint as the technology “bridge” between traditional development and open source worlds, we will look specifically at the relevance and the value of Git on the IBM i (aka iSeries, AS\/400) platform.<\/p>\n
On the face of it, Git is a simple, open source tool designed for managing source code across multiple projects.\u00a0 It has all but eliminated its predecessor, CVS.\u00a0 Somewhere between the two, SVN had its moment of glory in the 2000s but has steadily been losing ground to Git.\u00a0 So far, nothing unusual in the technology market.<\/p>\n
So why has Git achieved such an outright dominance? Does it possess some game-changing features that outstrip its competitors?\u00a0 No, that\u2019s definitely not the case.\u00a0 Or because the founding father of Git is none other than Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux? \u00a0This is closer to the truth.\u00a0 \u00a0In fact, Git adoption grew in line with the success of Linux itself\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/www.arcadsoftware.fr\/arcad\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Photo-Arcad-Philippe-Magne.png\" "\\"Photo")
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