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Comment:Edits to the history of Fossil. Add the history of fossil to the permuted index as a primary document, replacing the (unmaintained) FAQ.
Downloads: Tarball | ZIP archive
Timelines: family | ancestors | descendants | both | trunk
Files: files | file ages | folders
SHA3-256: b8ad564dc59cb35ac4475d8071b2454d9d93a1e3896204e10107a7e6642a80f5
User & Date: drh 2020-04-11 23:19:34.200
Context
2020-04-12
03:06
For the "user:" hyperlink in a forum post in "vfx" mode, link to another timeline that is also in "vfx" mode. check-in: 55f9d7b6ec user: drh tags: trunk
2020-04-11
23:19
Edits to the history of Fossil. Add the history of fossil to the permuted index as a primary document, replacing the (unmaintained) FAQ. check-in: b8ad564dc5 user: drh tags: trunk
20:55
First draft of the "history.md" documentation file. This file is far from complete and has not yet be integrated into the permuted index. check-in: 8c6aca20ad user: drh tags: trunk
Changes
Unified Diff Ignore Whitespace Patch
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# The History And Purpose Of Fossil

Fossil is a [distributed version control system (DVCS)][1] written
beginning in [2007][2] by the [architect of SQLite][3] for the
purpose of managing the [SQLite project][4].

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_version_control
[2]: /timeline?a=1970-01-01&n=10
[3]: https://sqlite.org/crew.html
[4]: https://sqlite.org/

Though Fossil was originally written specifically to support SQLite,
it is now also used by many other projects.  The SQLite architect (drh)
is still the top committer to Fossil, but there are
[many contributors][5].

[5]: /reports?type=ci&view=byuser

## History

The SQLite project start out using [CVS][6], as CVS was the mostly
commonly used version control system in that era (circa 2000).  CVS
was an amazing version control system for its day in that it allowed
multiple developers to be editing the same file at the same time.

[6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_Versions_System

Though innovative and much loved in its time, CVS was not without problems.
Among those was a lack of visibility into the project history and the
lack of integrated bug tracking.  To try to address these deficiencies,
the SQLite author developed the [CVSTrac][7] wrapper for CVS beginning
in [2002][8].

[7]: http://cvstrac.org/
[8]: http://cvstrac.org/fossil/timeline?a=19700101&n=10

CVSTrac greatly improved the usability of CVS and was adopted by
other projects.  CVSTrac also [inspired the design][9] of [Trac][10],
which was a similar system that was (and is) far more widely used.

[9]: https://trac.edgewall.org/wiki/TracHistory
[10]: https://trac.edgewall.org/

Historians can see the influence of CVSTrac on the development of
SQLite.  [Early SQLite check-ins][11] that happened before CVSTrac
was available often had a check-in comment which was just a "smiley".
That was not an unreasonable check-in comment, as check-in comments
were scarcely seen and of questionable utility in CVS.  CVSTrac
changed that, making check-in comments more visible and more useful.
The SQLite developers reacted by creating [better check-in comments][12].

[11]: https://sqlite.org/src/timeline?a=19700101&n=10
[12]: https://sqlite.org/src/timeline?c=20030101&n=10&nd

At about this same time, the [Monotone][13] system appeared
([website][14]).  Monotone
was one of the first distributed version control systems.  As far as
this author is aware, Monotone was the first VCS to make use of
SHA1 to identify artifacts.  Monotone stored its content in an SQLite
database, which is what brought it to the attention of the SQLite architect.


[13]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotone_(software)
[14]: https://www.monotone.ca/

Beginning around 2005, the need for a better version control system
for SQLite began to become evident.  The SQLite architect looked
around for a suitable replacement.  Monotone, Git, and Mercurical were
all considered.  But that that time, none of these supported sync
over ordinary HTTP, none could be run from an inexpensive shell
account on a leased server (this was before the widespread availability
of affordable virtual machines), and none of them supported anything 
resembling the wiki and ticket features of CVSTrac that had been 
found to be so useful.  And so, the SQLite architect began writing
his own DVCS.

Early prototypes were done in [TCL][15].  As experiments proceeded,
however, it was found that the low-level byte manipulates needed for
things like delta compression and computing diffs
were better implemented in plain old C.
Experiments continued.  Finally, a prototype capable of self-hosting
was devised on [2007-07-16][16].

[15]: https://www.tcl.tk/
[16]: https://fossil-scm.org/fossil/timeline?c=200707211410&n=10

The first project hosted by Fossil was Fossil itself.  After a
few months of development work, the code was considered stable enough
to begin hosting the [SQLite documentation repository][17] which was
split off from the main SQLite CVS repository on [2007-11-12][18].

[17]: https://www.sqlite.org/docsrc/doc/trunk/README.md
[18]: https://www.sqlite.org/docsrc/timeline?c=200711120345&n=10

Finally, after two years of development work on Fossil, the
SQLite source code itself was transfered to Fossil on
[2009-08-11][19].



[19]: https://sqlite.org/src/timeline?c=b0848925babde524&n=12&y=ci



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# The History And Purpose Of Fossil

Fossil is a [distributed version control system (DVCS)][100] written
beginning in [2007][105] by the [architect of SQLite][110] for the
purpose of managing the [SQLite project][115].

[100]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_version_control
[105]: /timeline?a=1970-01-01&n=10
[110]: https://sqlite.org/crew.html
[115]: https://sqlite.org/

Though Fossil was originally written specifically to support SQLite,
it is now also used by countless other projects.  The SQLite architect (drh)
is still the top committer to Fossil, but there are also
[many other contributors][120].

[120]: /reports?type=ci&view=byuser

## History

The SQLite project start out using [CVS][300], as CVS was the mostly
commonly used version control system in that era (circa 2000).  CVS
was an amazing version control system for its day in that it allowed
multiple developers to be editing the same file at the same time.

[300]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_Versions_System

Though innovative and much loved in its time, CVS was not without problems.
Among those was a lack of visibility into the project history and the
lack of integrated bug tracking.  To try to address these deficiencies,
the SQLite author developed the [CVSTrac][305] wrapper for CVS beginning
in [2002][310].

[305]: http://cvstrac.org/
[310]: http://cvstrac.org/fossil/timeline?a=19700101&n=10

CVSTrac greatly improved the usability of CVS and was adopted by
other projects.  CVSTrac also [inspired the design][315] of [Trac][320],
which was a similar system that was (and is) far more widely used.

[315]: https://trac.edgewall.org/wiki/TracHistory
[320]: https://trac.edgewall.org/

Historians can see the influence of CVSTrac on the development of
SQLite.  [Early SQLite check-ins][325] that happened before CVSTrac
often had a check-in comment that was just a "smiley".
That was not an unreasonable check-in comment, as check-in comments
were scarcely seen and of questionable utility in raw CVS.  CVSTrac
changed that, making check-in comments more visible and more useful.
The SQLite developers reacted by creating [better check-in comments][330].

[325]: https://sqlite.org/src/timeline?a=19700101&n=10
[330]: https://sqlite.org/src/timeline?c=20030101&n=10&nd

At about this same time, the [Monotone][335] system appeared.

Monotone was one of the first distributed version control systems. As far as
this author is aware, Monotone was the first VCS to make use of
SHA1 to identify artifacts.  Monotone stored its content in an SQLite
database, which is what brought it to the attention of the SQLite architect.
These design choices were a major source of inspiration for Fossil.


[335]: https://www.monotone.ca/

Beginning around 2005, the need for a better version control system
for SQLite began to become evident.  The SQLite architect looked
around for a suitable replacement.  Monotone, Git, and Mercurical were
all considered.  But at that time, none of these supported sync
over ordinary HTTP, none could be run from an inexpensive shell
account on a leased server (this was before the widespread availability
of affordable virtual machines), and none of them supported anything 
resembling the wiki and ticket features of CVSTrac that had been 
found to be so useful.  And so, the SQLite architect began writing
his own DVCS.

Early prototypes were done in [TCL][340].  As experiments proceeded,
however, it was found that the low-level byte manipulates needed for
things like delta compression and computing diffs
were better implemented in plain old C.
Experiments continued.  Finally, a prototype capable of self-hosting
was devised on [2007-07-16][345].

[340]: https://www.tcl.tk/
[345]: https://fossil-scm.org/fossil/timeline?c=200707211410&n=10

The first project hosted by Fossil was Fossil itself.  After a
few months of development work, the code was considered stable enough
to begin hosting the [SQLite documentation repository][350] which was
split off from the main SQLite CVS repository on [2007-11-12][355].




After two years of development work on Fossil, the
SQLite source code itself was transfered to Fossil on
[2009-08-11][360].

[350]: https://www.sqlite.org/docsrc/doc/trunk/README.md
[355]: https://www.sqlite.org/docsrc/timeline?c=200711120345&n=10
[360]: https://sqlite.org/src/timeline?c=b0848925babde524&n=12&y=ci
Changes to www/mkindex.tcl.
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  globs.md {File Name Glob Patterns}
  grep.md {Fossil grep vs POSIX grep}
  hacker-howto.wiki {Hacker How-To}
  hacker-howto.wiki {Fossil Developers Guide}
  hashpolicy.wiki {Hash Policy: Choosing Between SHA1 and SHA3-256}
  /help {Lists of Commands and Webpages}
  hints.wiki {Fossil Tips And Usage Hints}

  index.wiki {Home Page}
  inout.wiki {Import And Export To And From Git}
  image-format-vs-repo-size.md {Image Format vs Fossil Repo Size}
  javascript.md {Use of JavaScript in Fossil}
  makefile.wiki {The Fossil Build Process}
  mirrorlimitations.md {Limitations On Git Mirrors}
  mirrortogithub.md {How To Mirror A Fossil Repository On GitHub}








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  globs.md {File Name Glob Patterns}
  grep.md {Fossil grep vs POSIX grep}
  hacker-howto.wiki {Hacker How-To}
  hacker-howto.wiki {Fossil Developers Guide}
  hashpolicy.wiki {Hash Policy: Choosing Between SHA1 and SHA3-256}
  /help {Lists of Commands and Webpages}
  hints.wiki {Fossil Tips And Usage Hints}
  history.md {The Purpose And History Of Fossil}
  index.wiki {Home Page}
  inout.wiki {Import And Export To And From Git}
  image-format-vs-repo-size.md {Image Format vs Fossil Repo Size}
  javascript.md {Use of JavaScript in Fossil}
  makefile.wiki {The Fossil Build Process}
  mirrorlimitations.md {Limitations On Git Mirrors}
  mirrortogithub.md {How To Mirror A Fossil Repository On GitHub}
︙︙
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<input type="text" name="s" size="40" autofocus>
<input type="submit" value="Search Docs">
</form>
</center>
<h2>Primary Documents:</h2>
<ul>
<li> <a href='quickstart.wiki'>Quick-start Guide</a>
<li> <a href='faq.wiki'>FAQ</a>
<li> <a href='build.wiki'>Compiling and installing Fossil</a>
<li> <a href='../COPYRIGHT-BSD2.txt'>License</a>
<li> <a href='http://www.fossil-scm.org/schimpf-book/home'>Jim Schimpf's
book</a>
<li> <a href='$ROOT/help'>List of commands, web-pages, and settings</a>
<li> <a href='hacker-howto.wiki'>Fossil Developer's Guide</a>
</ul>








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<input type="text" name="s" size="40" autofocus>
<input type="submit" value="Search Docs">
</form>
</center>
<h2>Primary Documents:</h2>
<ul>
<li> <a href='quickstart.wiki'>Quick-start Guide</a>
<li> <a href='history.md'>Purpose and History of Fossil</a>
<li> <a href='build.wiki'>Compiling and installing Fossil</a>
<li> <a href='../COPYRIGHT-BSD2.txt'>License</a>
<li> <a href='http://www.fossil-scm.org/schimpf-book/home'>Jim Schimpf's
book</a>
<li> <a href='$ROOT/help'>List of commands, web-pages, and settings</a>
<li> <a href='hacker-howto.wiki'>Fossil Developer's Guide</a>
</ul>
︙︙
Changes to www/permutedindex.html. 
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<div class='fossil-doc' data-title='Index Of Fossil Documentation'>

<center>
<form action='$ROOT/docsrch' method='GET'>
<input type="text" name="s" size="40" autofocus>
<input type="submit" value="Search Docs">
</form>
</center>
<h2>Primary Documents:</h2>
<ul>
<li> <a href='quickstart.wiki'>Quick-start Guide</a>
<li> <a href='faq.wiki'>FAQ</a>
<li> <a href='build.wiki'>Compiling and installing Fossil</a>
<li> <a href='../COPYRIGHT-BSD2.txt'>License</a>
<li> <a href='http://www.fossil-scm.org/schimpf-book/home'>Jim Schimpf's
book</a>
<li> <a href='$ROOT/help'>List of commands, web-pages, and settings</a>
<li> <a href='hacker-howto.wiki'>Fossil Developer's Guide</a>
</ul>












|








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<div class='fossil-doc' data-title='Index Of Fossil Documentation'>

<center>
<form action='$ROOT/docsrch' method='GET'>
<input type="text" name="s" size="40" autofocus>
<input type="submit" value="Search Docs">
</form>
</center>
<h2>Primary Documents:</h2>
<ul>
<li> <a href='quickstart.wiki'>Quick-start Guide</a>
<li> <a href='history.md'>Purpose and History of Fossil</a>
<li> <a href='build.wiki'>Compiling and installing Fossil</a>
<li> <a href='../COPYRIGHT-BSD2.txt'>License</a>
<li> <a href='http://www.fossil-scm.org/schimpf-book/home'>Jim Schimpf's
book</a>
<li> <a href='$ROOT/help'>List of commands, web-pages, and settings</a>
<li> <a href='hacker-howto.wiki'>Fossil Developer's Guide</a>
</ul>
︙︙
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<li><a href="quickstart.wiki">Guide &mdash; Fossil Quick Start</a></li>
<li><a href="style.wiki">Guidelines &mdash; Source Code Style</a></li>
<li><a href="hacker-howto.wiki"><b>Hacker How-To</b></a></li>
<li><a href="adding_code.wiki"><b>Hacking Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="rebaseharm.md">Harmful &mdash; Rebase Considered</a></li>
<li><a href="hashpolicy.wiki"><b>Hash Policy: Choosing Between SHA1 and SHA3-256</b></a></li>
<li><a href="hints.wiki">Hints &mdash; Fossil Tips And Usage</a></li>

<li><a href="index.wiki"><b>Home Page</b></a></li>
<li><a href="selfhost.wiki">Hosting Repositories &mdash; Fossil Self</a></li>
<li><a href="aboutcgi.wiki"><b>How CGI Works In Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="aboutdownload.wiki"><b>How The Download Page Works</b></a></li>
<li><a href="server/"><b>How To Configure A Fossil Server</b></a></li>
<li><a href="newrepo.wiki"><b>How To Create A New Fossil Repository</b></a></li>
<li><a href="mirrortogithub.md"><b>How To Mirror A Fossil Repository On GitHub</b></a></li>








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<li><a href="quickstart.wiki">Guide &mdash; Fossil Quick Start</a></li>
<li><a href="style.wiki">Guidelines &mdash; Source Code Style</a></li>
<li><a href="hacker-howto.wiki"><b>Hacker How-To</b></a></li>
<li><a href="adding_code.wiki"><b>Hacking Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="rebaseharm.md">Harmful &mdash; Rebase Considered</a></li>
<li><a href="hashpolicy.wiki"><b>Hash Policy: Choosing Between SHA1 and SHA3-256</b></a></li>
<li><a href="hints.wiki">Hints &mdash; Fossil Tips And Usage</a></li>
<li><a href="history.md">History Of Fossil &mdash; The Purpose And</a></li>
<li><a href="index.wiki"><b>Home Page</b></a></li>
<li><a href="selfhost.wiki">Hosting Repositories &mdash; Fossil Self</a></li>
<li><a href="aboutcgi.wiki"><b>How CGI Works In Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="aboutdownload.wiki"><b>How The Download Page Works</b></a></li>
<li><a href="server/"><b>How To Configure A Fossil Server</b></a></li>
<li><a href="newrepo.wiki"><b>How To Create A New Fossil Repository</b></a></li>
<li><a href="mirrortogithub.md"><b>How To Mirror A Fossil Repository On GitHub</b></a></li>
︙︙
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<li><a href="contribute.wiki">Project &mdash; Contributing Code or Documentation To The Fossil</a></li>
<li><a href="embeddeddoc.wiki">Project Documentation &mdash; Embedded</a></li>
<li><a href="foss-cklist.wiki">Projects &mdash; Checklist For Successful Open-Source</a></li>
<li><a href="childprojects.wiki">Projects &mdash; Child</a></li>
<li><a href="fossil_prompt.wiki">Prompt &mdash; Fossilized Bash</a></li>
<li><a href="sync.wiki">Protocol &mdash; The Fossil Sync</a></li>
<li><a href="tls-nginx.md"><b>Proxying Fossil via HTTPS with nginx</b></a></li>

<li><a href="faq.wiki">Questions &mdash; Frequently Asked</a></li>
<li><a href="qandc.wiki"><b>Questions And Criticisms</b></a></li>
<li><a href="quickstart.wiki">Quick Start Guide &mdash; Fossil</a></li>
<li><a href="quotes.wiki"><b>Quotes: What People Are Saying About Fossil, Git, and DVCSes in General</b></a></li>
<li><a href="rebaseharm.md"><b>Rebase Considered Harmful</b></a></li>
<li><a href="caps/ref.html">Reference &mdash; User Capability</a></li>
<li><a href="image-format-vs-repo-size.md">Repo Size &mdash; Image Format vs Fossil</a></li>








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<li><a href="contribute.wiki">Project &mdash; Contributing Code or Documentation To The Fossil</a></li>
<li><a href="embeddeddoc.wiki">Project Documentation &mdash; Embedded</a></li>
<li><a href="foss-cklist.wiki">Projects &mdash; Checklist For Successful Open-Source</a></li>
<li><a href="childprojects.wiki">Projects &mdash; Child</a></li>
<li><a href="fossil_prompt.wiki">Prompt &mdash; Fossilized Bash</a></li>
<li><a href="sync.wiki">Protocol &mdash; The Fossil Sync</a></li>
<li><a href="tls-nginx.md"><b>Proxying Fossil via HTTPS with nginx</b></a></li>
<li><a href="history.md">Purpose And History Of Fossil &mdash; The</a></li>
<li><a href="faq.wiki">Questions &mdash; Frequently Asked</a></li>
<li><a href="qandc.wiki"><b>Questions And Criticisms</b></a></li>
<li><a href="quickstart.wiki">Quick Start Guide &mdash; Fossil</a></li>
<li><a href="quotes.wiki"><b>Quotes: What People Are Saying About Fossil, Git, and DVCSes in General</b></a></li>
<li><a href="rebaseharm.md"><b>Rebase Considered Harmful</b></a></li>
<li><a href="caps/ref.html">Reference &mdash; User Capability</a></li>
<li><a href="image-format-vs-repo-size.md">Repo Size &mdash; Image Format vs Fossil</a></li>
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<li><a href="backoffice.md"><b>The "Backoffice" mechanism of Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="blame.wiki"><b>The Annotate/Blame Algorithm Of Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="defcsp.md"><b>The Default Content Security Policy</b></a></li>
<li><a href="makefile.wiki"><b>The Fossil Build Process</b></a></li>
<li><a href="sync.wiki"><b>The Fossil Sync Protocol</b></a></li>
<li><a href="tickets.wiki"><b>The Fossil Ticket System</b></a></li>
<li><a href="webui.wiki"><b>The Fossil Web Interface</b></a></li>

<li><a href="th1.md"><b>The TH1 Scripting Language</b></a></li>
<li><a href="customskin.md"><b>Theming: Customizing The Appearance of Web Pages</b></a></li>
<li><a href="customgraph.md"><b>Theming: Customizing the Timeline Graph</b></a></li>
<li><a href="theory1.wiki"><b>Thoughts On The Design Of The Fossil DVCS</b></a></li>
<li><a href="custom_ticket.wiki">Ticket System &mdash; Customizing The</a></li>
<li><a href="tickets.wiki">Ticket System &mdash; The Fossil</a></li>
<li><a href="customgraph.md">Timeline Graph &mdash; Theming: Customizing the</a></li>








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<li><a href="backoffice.md"><b>The "Backoffice" mechanism of Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="blame.wiki"><b>The Annotate/Blame Algorithm Of Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="defcsp.md"><b>The Default Content Security Policy</b></a></li>
<li><a href="makefile.wiki"><b>The Fossil Build Process</b></a></li>
<li><a href="sync.wiki"><b>The Fossil Sync Protocol</b></a></li>
<li><a href="tickets.wiki"><b>The Fossil Ticket System</b></a></li>
<li><a href="webui.wiki"><b>The Fossil Web Interface</b></a></li>
<li><a href="history.md"><b>The Purpose And History Of Fossil</b></a></li>
<li><a href="th1.md"><b>The TH1 Scripting Language</b></a></li>
<li><a href="customskin.md"><b>Theming: Customizing The Appearance of Web Pages</b></a></li>
<li><a href="customgraph.md"><b>Theming: Customizing the Timeline Graph</b></a></li>
<li><a href="theory1.wiki"><b>Thoughts On The Design Of The Fossil DVCS</b></a></li>
<li><a href="custom_ticket.wiki">Ticket System &mdash; Customizing The</a></li>
<li><a href="tickets.wiki">Ticket System &mdash; The Fossil</a></li>
<li><a href="customgraph.md">Timeline Graph &mdash; Theming: Customizing the</a></li>
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