What the Hell is NSGit Anyway?

Since NSGit was officially released, there has been confusion about what NSGit actually is and what it isn’t. Hopefully, I can clear up all of the confusion in this short post.

First, it would help to know that git is the leading Open Source Distributed Version Control System. It is used to manage a large portion of Open Source code out there. It is also an approved product at many companies including large banks. Git runs in the OSS space and needs the OSS file system to run properly. Git is really good at managing ASCII text files, and with some work, binary files like Word documents. Best of all, it is free to install and use. Git is licensed under the GNU Public License. Git has introductory videos and detailed descriptions at https://git-scm.com.

Next, there is NSGit, a front-end for git, also sometimes known as NonStop Git. NSGit allows GUARDIAN components to be stored in git; so EDIT files, ENSCRIBE files, DDL Dictionaries, code 100, code 500, 700, 800 files, SCOBOL source and compiled POBJ requesters, and more. It also does installation and fallback scripting so you can get your code from git into production. NSGit is written by Nexbridge, licensed by comForte, and is licensed under a Commercial License. NSGit is not Open Source.

There are Cloud providers, like github and BitBucket, who provide web and SSH interfaces to git. These SaaS providers are pay as you go services depending on how many users and whether you are doing Open Source or private repositories. These providers offer additional security, process engines, and integration with continuous build engines.

Finally, you can also license github and BitBucket on your private Cloud for a fee. These are generally similar to the Cloud SaaS versions, but have more functionality and better integration. BitBucket is known to already be installed at many NonStop customers, and runs on Linux servers. These are also covered under Commercial Licenses.

So where does the buck stop? While git itself is free, other products tend to be commercially licensed. If a product is built with git components inside, it is also covered by GNU. NSGit uses git as a service, so a commercial license is appropriate. ITUGLIB does the basic porting for git, which is a use at your own risk situation, but if you want support, you need to go to github or BitBucket SaaS or private Clouds and to comForte/Nexbridge for your NonStop components.

Happy Managing!

Randall Becker is the brains behind NSGit and also maintains the git port for NonStop H/J and L-series operating systems at ITUGLIB. He designed the DevOps process structure for ITUGLIB to sustain the ongoing porting efforts by the team.