e65e669148 2008-05-24       drh: <h1>Fossil: Distributed Revision Control, Wiki, and Bug-Tracking</h1>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: 
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <p>
22005927ad 2008-05-16       drh: Fossil is a new
22005927ad 2008-05-16       drh: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revision_control">
22005927ad 2008-05-16       drh: distributed software revision control system</a> that includes an integrated
22005927ad 2008-05-16       drh: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki">Wiki</a> and an integrated
22005927ad 2008-05-16       drh: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugtracker">
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: bug-tracking system</a> all in a single, easy-to-use, stand-alone
22005927ad 2008-05-16       drh: executable.
1db8656f68 2008-05-29       drh: (NB: The bug-tracker component is not yet completely functional, but
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: we expect it to be available soon.)
22005927ad 2008-05-16       drh: Fossil is
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: <a href="http://www.fossil-scm.org/fossil/timeline">self-hosting</a>
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: since 2007-07-21 on
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://www.hwaci.com/cgi-bin/fossil/timeline">two separate servers</a>.
42ed55e82f 2008-06-02       drh: You can download the lastest sources and
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: compile it yourself using the instructions below.
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: Or you can grab
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <a href="http://www.fossil-scm.org/download.html">precompiled binaries</a>.
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: </p>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: 
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <p>Design Goals For Fossil:</p>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: 
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <ul>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Supports disconnected, distributed development (like
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://kerneltrap.org/node/4982">git</a>,
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <a href="http://www.monotone.ca/">monotone</a>,
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://www.selenic.com/mercurial/wiki/index.cgi">mercurial</a>, or
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://www.bitkeeper.com/">bitkeeper</a>)
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: or client/server operation (like
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://www.nongnu.org/cvs/">CVS</a> or
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <a href="http://subversion.tigris.org/">subversion</a>),
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: or operations on local repositories,
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: or all three at the same time</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Integrated bug tracking and wiki, along the lines of
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://www.cvstrac.org/">CVSTrac</a> and
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://www.edgewall.com/trac/">Trac</a>.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Built-in web interface that supports deep archaeological digs through
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: the project history.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>All network communication via
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP">HTTP</a>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: (so that everything works from behind restrictive firewalls).</li>
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: <li>Everything (client, server, and utilities) is included in a
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: single self-contained executable - trivial to install</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Server runs as <a href="http://www.w3.org/CGI/">CGI</a>, using
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/inetd">inetd</a>/<a
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh:  href="http://www.xinetd.org/">xinetd</a>, or using its own built-in,
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: standalone web server.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>An entire project contained in single disk file (which also
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: happens to be an <a href="http://www.sqlite.org/">SQLite</a> database.)</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Trivial to setup and administer</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Files and versions are identified by their
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA-1">SHA1</a> signature.</a>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: Any unique prefix is sufficient to identify a file
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: or version - usually the first 4 or 5 characters suffice.</li>
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: <li>The <a href="fileformat.wiki">file format</a> designed to be enduring.
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: It is deliberately kept simple, requiring nothing more complex
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: than a text editor and an SHA1 checksum generator to encode or decode.</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li>Automatic <a href="selfcheck.wiki">self-check</a>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: on repository changes makes it exceedingly
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: unlikely that data will ever be lost because of a software bug.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: </ul>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: 
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <p>Objectives Of Fossil:</p>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: 
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <ul>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Fossil should be ridiculously easy to
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <a href="build.wiki">install</a> and
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <a href="quickstart.wiki">operate</a>.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>With fossil, it should be possible (and
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <a href="quickstart.wiki#serversetup">easy</a>) to set up a project
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: on an inexpensive shared-hosting ISP
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: (example: <a href="http://www.he.net/hosting.html">Hurricane Electric</a>)
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: that provides nothing more than web space and CGI capability.
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: Here is <a href="http://www.hwaci.com/cgi-bin/fossil/timeline">a demo</a>.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <li>Fossil should provide in-depth historical and status information about the
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: project through a web interface</li>
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: <li>Fossil should provide an historical record of a project that endures
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: for decades or centuries and across multiple generations of hardward
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: and software.</li>
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: <li>Fossil should be easily adaptable to different workflows.  Fossil
adc0b3bfb0 2008-07-15       drh: implements mechanism, not policy.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: </ul>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: 
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: <p>User Links:</p>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: 
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: <ul>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li>The <a href="concepts.wiki">concepts</b> behind fossil</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li><a href="build.wiki">Building And Installing</a></li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li><a href="quickstart.wiki">Quick Start</a> guide to using fossil
1db8656f68 2008-05-29       drh: <li>Fossil supports <a href="embeddeddoc.wiki">embedded documentation</a>
4b826eed14 2008-05-19       drh:     that is versioned along with project source code.</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li>The <a href="selfcheck.wiki">automatic self-check</a> mechanism
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: helps insure project integrity.</li>
42ed55e82f 2008-06-02       drh: <li>Fossil contains a [/wiki | built-in wiki].</li>
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: <li>There is a
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh:     <a href="http://lists.fossil-scm.org:8080/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fossil-users">
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh:     mailing list</a> available for discussing fossil issues.</li>
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: </ul>
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: 
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: <p>Developer Links: </p>
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: 
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: <ul>
06689854ae 2008-05-17       drh: <li><a href="pop.wiki">Principles Of Operation</a></li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li>The <a href="fileformat.wiki">file format</a> used by every content
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: file stored in the repository.</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li>The <a href="delta_format.wiki">format of deltas</a> used to
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: efficiently store changes between file revisions.</li>
bfab49ede1 2008-05-15   stephan: <li>The <a href="delta_encoder_algorithm.wiki">encoder algorithm</a> used to
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: efficiently generate deltas.</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li>The <a href="sync.wiki">synchronization protocol</a>.</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: </ul>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: 
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <p>Competing Projects:</p>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: 
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <ul>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li><a href="http://www.ditrack.org/">DITrace</a>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan:      - A Distributed Issue  Tracker</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li><a href="http://www.distract.wellquite.org/">DisTract</a>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan:      - Another distributed issue tracker based on
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan:      <a href="http://www.monotone.ca/">monotone</a>.</li>
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan: <li><a href="http://www.monotone.ca/">Monotone</a> - distributed
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan:      SCM in a single-file executable with a single-file SQLite
d87ca60c58 2008-05-15   stephan:      database repository.</li>
11976cfdc2 2007-09-02       drh: </ul>