GitHub vs Google Code

May 21, 2023 | Author: Michael Stromann
20
GitHub
GitHub is the best place to share code with friends, co-workers, classmates, and complete strangers. Over seven million people use GitHub to build amazing things together. Free public repositories, collaborator management, issue tracking, wikis, downloads, code review, graphs and much more…
6
Google Code
Google Developers is now the place to find all Google developer documentation, resources, events, and products. Project Hosting on Google Code provides a free collaborative development environment for open source projects.
GitHub and Google Code are both web-based platforms for hosting and managing software development projects, but they have distinct differences. GitHub has emerged as the leading platform, known for its extensive community, collaborative features, and support for Git repositories. It offers a user-friendly interface, robust version control, pull request workflows, issue tracking, and a wide range of third-party integrations. GitHub is widely used by individual developers, open-source projects, and organizations. Google Code, on the other hand, was Google's earlier code hosting platform that provided similar functionalities. However, Google Code was officially shut down in 2016, and all existing projects were migrated to other platforms.

See also: Top 10 Issue Trackers
GitHub vs Google Code in our news:

2020. GitHub is now free for all teams



GitHub has recently announced that all of its core features are now available for free to all users. This includes unlimited private repositories with unlimited collaborators, catering to both individual users and teams engaged in commercial projects. Additionally, users can enjoy up to 2,000 minutes per month of free access to GitHub Actions, the platform's automation and CI/CD solution. While advanced features such as code owners and enterprise functionalities like SAML support still require a paid plan, the pricing structure has been revised. Teams can now upgrade to the Teams plan starting at $4 per month and user, compared to the previous cost of $9, while the Enterprise plan starts at $21 per month and user.


2018. GitHub business users now get access to public repos



GitHub, the code hosting service recently acquired by Microsoft, is introducing several new features for its business users, enhancing their ability to access public repositories on the platform. Previously, users on the hosted Business Cloud and self-hosted Enterprise environments lacked direct access to the vast array of public open-source repositories available on GitHub. However, with the latest update, this limitation is being addressed, enabling business users to extend their reach beyond their firewalls and actively engage and collaborate with the wider GitHub community. Additionally, GitHub now provides its business and enterprise users with a new unified search functionality, allowing them to explore both their internal repositories and open-source ones.


2018. Microsoft acquired GitHub



Microsoft has recently completed the acquisition of the widely used code sharing and collaboration platform, GitHub, for a whopping $7.5 billion. This cloud-based service enables companies of all sizes, including Microsoft, to collaboratively work on code. With 27 million software developers actively engaged in 80 million code repositories, GitHub has become an essential platform for various software development projects. Considering Microsoft's strategic focus on catering to software developers through cloud services, this acquisition aligns naturally with their vision, as spearheaded by CEO Satya Nadella. GitHub serves as a versatile tool utilized not only for coding Microsoft Windows applications but also for a wide range of projects, spanning from websites to iPhone apps. As a result of Microsoft's acquisition of GitHub, users can expect even deeper integration between Microsoft's developer tools and this platform, enabling a more seamless and enhanced experience.


2016. GitHub gets project management tool



GitHub has introduced its "most significant update" to its Git-based code hosting service. This update expands GitHub's offerings beyond code hosting and includes basic project management features reminiscent of a Kanban board. While GitHub has always supported integrations with various project management tools, this update introduces a built-in tool that allows users to organize cards, such as pull requests, issues, and notes, into customizable columns like "in-progress," "done," or any other preferred labels. Similar to platforms like Trello, users can easily drag and drop cards between columns to reflect changes in project status. This enhancement enables GitHub to provide a more comprehensive solution for project management in addition to its existing code hosting capabilities.


2015. Version control service GitHub raises $250M



GitHub, the widely-used software development collaboration and version control service built upon the popular open-source Git tool, has successfully raised an impressive $250 million in funding. The company intends to utilize this new capital infusion to accelerate its growth trajectory and expand its sales and engineering teams, a common strategy for companies following fundraising initiatives. Git has undoubtedly emerged as a de facto version control system for numerous startups, with GitHub leading the pack among companies that essentially provide Git as a service. While Atlassian, Microsoft, GitLab, and others offer similar services, both cloud-hosted and on-premises, GitHub has unquestionably garnered the lion's share of attention in recent years. GitHub reports a current user base of approximately 10 million individuals actively collaborating on over 25 million projects (a significant increase from 10 million users in January 2014). However, considering GitHub offers free accounts, it remains unclear how many of these users are paying subscribers (with pricing starting at $5/month).


2015. Google discontinues Google Code



Google Code, another Google service, is set to be shut down as Google believes it has been surpassed by alternative platforms. The closure of Google Code is primarily justified by the increasing prevalence of "spam or abuse" among the projects hosted on the platform, placing a heavy burden on administrative efforts dedicated to managing such issues. In a blog post on its Open Source Blog, Google acknowledges the evolving landscape since the establishment of Google Code in 2006, when it aimed to provide a reliable and stable project hosting site. The company now recognizes that developers have migrated to "better" services, notably GitHub, which has become a favored platform for developers and even prompted Google to relocate many of its own open source projects to where the developer community thrives.


2014. GitHub Enterprise now works on Amazon Web Services



The latest release of code repository software, GitHub Enterprise 2.0, introduces the capability to leverage the service's virtual machines to establish a highly scalable version of GitHub's services on Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing platform provided by Amazon. This update encompasses various features, regardless of whether it is hosted on AWS or any other platform. One significant enhancement is the ability for companies to utilize their existing single sign-on solution with GitHub. They can now employ LDAP or SAML compatible solutions to achieve this integration. Furthermore, the update introduces security audit logs, enabling administrators to closely monitor user activities and facilitate auditing of account, team, and repository access over time.


2014. ZenHub helps engineering teams manage projects inside GitHub



Other companies are now capitalizing on the popularity of GitHub by developing services designed to enhance the platform. One such project is ZenHub, which aims to streamline and expedite workflows on GitHub. ZenHub offers teams a project management service that seamlessly integrates with GitHub, offering features such as Trello-like drag-and-drop task boards, convenient file uploads for any file type (as opposed to GitHub's default limitation to image files), and +1 buttons for quick feedback on commits, pull requests, suggestions, and comments. While primarily targeted at developers, the user-friendly interface of ZenHub also enables business users to efficiently manage their workflows within GitHub, potentially eliminating the need for additional third-party management tools.

Author: Michael Stromann
Michael is an expert in IT Service Management, IT Security and software development. With his extensive experience as a software developer and active involvement in multiple ERP implementation projects, Michael brings a wealth of practical knowledge to his writings. Having previously worked at SAP, he has honed his expertise and gained a deep understanding of software development and implementation processes. Currently, as a freelance developer, Michael continues to contribute to the IT community by sharing his insights through guest articles published on several IT portals. You can contact Michael by email stromann@liventerprise.com