Why are django applications moving to GitHub?

Question

Since I started learning Django framework I came across several applications that switched from GoogleCode to GitHub. But I can't see any explanation for this fact... Is there any specific reason for that? Does this mean it GitHub is more adequate for Django-related projects?

Answer 1

I believe there are several reasons. First and foremost, Github was just awesome compared to Google Code. They reinvented code and projects as social objects and took git's distributed model and made it into more of a culture where doing, making changes and pushing forward is more central than project ownership. Github encourages forking (they make it super easy) as the way to collaborate (fork, modify and send pull requests). If the owners of the "upstream" project moves too slow, you eventually become the owner of the project.

Beyond your own projects, Github exposes who you're following and which other projects you follow. That is, find a great programmer on Github and follow that person. If that person starts following a project, it's a strong indicator that project is worthwhile and likely a good choice next time you're looking for something in that area. Start following the people working on the projects you're using today and you'll soon see the value of this.

Second: At the time, Google Code only supported Subversion-based projects (whereas now, they also support Mercurial.) If you've only used Subversion before, it might not say much but the differences are key to why a lot of people moved to git and Github. Mercurial is actually considered more pythonic than git and thus many use Bitbucket (I'm pretty sure they weren't around when Github launched.)

Third: Most Django reusable apps are single person projects so many features of Google Code are not that useful. In general, Github is way easier to work with for smaller projects.

Fourth: The usability. Github looks great and is easy to use.