The end of the article will surprise you.
It is a site well known to developers, less the general public. GitHub is a platform specialized in hosting software projects. It makes it possible to collaborate on the design of programs and to follow the stages of progress thanks to a system of version management. Acquired in 2018 by Microsoft, it is the industry leader.
GitHub, the… center… of… c…
The principle of GitHub is reflected in its name, as long as we manage to dissect it. This is a portmanteau word composed of “Git” and “Hub”, which can be translated here as “center”, “pole” or “node”, to mean that it is a privileged place to meet and interconnect around software projects. Simply put, it’s like a hub for Git.
And Git, then? What is it the name of? Again, it is mainly computer scientists who will have the reference. This is free software developed by Linus Torvalds, to whom we owe the Linux kernel, which is used to manage software versions in a decentralized way. The project has been around since 2007 and is what GitHub uses to manage application code.
One question remains: why did you choose Git? Well, this is where things, shall we say, go a little wrong. If acronyms have been invented to give meaning to the three letters, a statement by Linus Torvalds reported in 2005 by PC World (which can still be consulted via the Internet Archive) sheds an atypical light on “git” for non- English speakers.
” When asked why he called his new software ‘git’, British slang meaning ‘a rotten person’, he replied. ‘I’m a selfish bastard, so I give my name to all my projects. First Linux, now git “, he dropped at the time. Other quite flowery formulations like “asshole”, “con” and “bastard” are also allowed.
This orientation can be found in initial pieces of documentation on Git. Thus, the “Readme” file began with the following lines:
GIT – the dumb content tracker
“git” can mean anything, depending on your mood.
- A random three-letter combination that is pronounceable, and not actually used by any common UNIX command. Whether this is a mispronunciation of “get” may or may not be relevant.
- Dumb. Despicable and unworthy. Simple. Make your choice in the
slang dictionary. - “Global Information Tracker”: you are in a good mood, and it really works for you. Angels are singing, and a light suddenly fills the room.
- “Stupid fucking shitty truck”: when it crashes.
