Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Pijul VS Fossil

Compare Pijul VS Fossil and see what are their differences

Pijul logo Pijul

Pijul is a free and open source distributed version control system based on a sound theory of...

Fossil logo Fossil

Simple, high-reliability, distributed software configuration management
  • Pijul Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-01
  • Fossil Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23

Pijul features and specs

  • Patch-Based System
    Pijul is based on a true patch-based model, where changes are stored as patches. This allows for more granular control and the ability to handle conflicts more naturally than in traditional version control systems.
  • Commute-ability
    Pijul allows patches to commute, meaning they can be rearranged freely as long as they do not directly conflict with each other. This can make collaboration simpler as developers can work in parallel seamlessly.
  • Conflict Resolution
    The system offers more sophisticated conflict resolution mechanisms, enabling users to resolve conflicts at the patch level rather than entire commits, making it easier to pinpoint and address issues.
  • Mathematical Foundations
    Pijul is based on a strong theoretical foundation (Darcs theory) that provides a rigorous mathematical framework for version control logic, offering a structured and reliable approach to merging and branching.
  • Branching and Merging
    Branching and merging in Pijul are straightforward and intuitive, eliminating many of the complexities associated with these processes in other systems.

Possible disadvantages of Pijul

  • Maturity and Adoption
    As a relatively new system, Pijul may not be as mature as other VCS solutions like Git, possibly leading to a lack of community support, plugins, and resources.
  • Tooling
    The ecosystem around Pijul, including integrations with other tools like IDEs and CI/CD systems, is still in development, potentially complicating its use in professional environments.
  • Learning Curve
    The patch-based approach and the principles behind Pijul might be unfamiliar to users accustomed to traditional version control systems, resulting in a steeper learning curve.
  • Performance
    For very large repositories or numerous patches, performance could potentially be an issue due to the complexity of operations on patches, though active improvements are being made.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    The community and ecosystem around Pijul are smaller compared to more established version control systems, which may hinder the availability of guides, plug-ins, or extensions.

Fossil features and specs

  • Version Control Integration
    Fossil is a distributed version control system that integrates bug tracking, a wiki, and a blog, providing a comprehensive development environment in one tool.
  • Self-Contained
    Fossil is a single executable that contains everything needed, making it easy to install and manage with low dependency overhead.
  • Simple UI
    Fossil includes a built-in, easy-to-use web interface that allows users to browse repositories, manage tickets, and handle wiki content without needing separate tools.
  • SQLite Backend
    Fossil uses an SQLite database to store all its data, making it reliable, efficient, and easy to backup and transfer.
  • Integrated Bug Tracking
    The integrated bug tracking system allows developers to manage issues and bugs directly within the same environment, streamlining the workflow.
  • Cross-Platform
    Fossil is designed to work on multiple operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows, ensuring a consistent experience across different environments.
  • Strong Documentation
    Fossil comes with extensive documentation and a supportive community, which helps users quickly get up to speed and solve issues.

Possible disadvantages of Fossil

  • Niche User Base
    Fossil has a relatively small user base compared to more popular version control systems like Git, which may result in fewer resources and community support.
  • Limited Third-Party Integration
    Due to its smaller market share, Fossil has fewer integrations and third-party tools available compared to its competitors, limiting extensibility.
  • Learning Curve
    Users new to Fossil might find its all-in-one approach with integrated tools to be complex initially, especially if they are accustomed to using separate systems for version control, bug tracking, and wikis.
  • Performance
    While suitable for many projects, Fossil might not perform as well as other VCS systems when handling very large repositories or extremely high volumes of transactions.
  • UI Customization
    The built-in web interface, while simple and functional, may lack the level of customization and modern design aesthetics that some users expect.

Pijul videos

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Fossil videos

Why Is EVERYONE Giving This Watch 5 Stars?! - A Brutally Honest Fossil Watch Review

More videos:

  • Review - What Happened To Fossil Watches?
  • Tutorial - Fossil watch real vs. fake review. How to tell counterfeit Fossil wrist watch

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Pijul and Fossil)
Git
51 51%
49% 49
Code Collaboration
50 50%
50% 50
Git Tools
61 61%
39% 39
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pijul should be more popular than Fossil. It has been mentiond 48 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Pijul mentions (48)

  • Evo: Version control that works the way you think
    Obligatory link to https://pijul.org/ which I’d say also fits the description - in which you really commit patches instead of whole trees and patches are pretend. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • I'm daily driving Jujutsu, and maybe you should too
    Simplicity is in the eye of the beholder but Pijul[0] claims to be "easy to learn and use". [0] https://pijul.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Ask HN: If you were rewriting Emacs from scratch, what would you do differently?
    >> see jujutsu nowadays I'm looking at pijul.. https://pijul.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Jujutsu: A Next Generation Replacement for Git
    How does this compare to Pijul[1]? [1] https://pijul.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Local First, Forever
    Using theory of patches would better compliment the current approach. Integrating a scm such as https://pijul.org or atleast the underlying tech would allow for better conflict resolutions. Transferring patches should also allow for more efficient use of io. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
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Fossil mentions (25)

  • I struggled with Git, so I'm making a game to spare others the pain
    Sort of repeating a nested comment, but - I've been using fossil ( https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki ) for years and absolutely love it. Single executable you just download and put in your path. Sane, well-documented interface (CLI, API and web). Full repo in a single SQLite file. Highly intelligent and efficient diff-based storage and compression (including network transfers). Rock-solid code.... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • jj: A Git-compatible VCS that is both simple and powerful
    Neither do I. This discussion isn't about what someone else runs or doesn't run on their computers. By all means, run `jj`. Or use `fossil`[1], which I maintain is technically superior to both `git` and `jj` (if you disagree, show me another VCS that also gives me a ticketing system, wiki, documentation system, forum and webui, all from a single executeable that allows me to set everything up with a few command... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Htmx Is Composable?
    Feedback to author: The diagram and explanation took a beat longer than normal to scan, since this buries a bit that it's not about the beautiful source control system called fossil shipped as a composition of modules: https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki Great diagrams, so of course that's the first thing a reader will skim. People biuld things based on git all the time, the diagram looks like... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Cloudflare API Down
    There are (all too rare) tools that back those objects with git as well. And there's always fossil ... https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki But it's not git. :-(. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Git Based SDLC
    I don't think git should be the infrastructure of collaboration. It's good for long-lived artifacts, but isn't good for discussion, for rights management, ... Fossil (https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki) is of course better, but if git must remain, I believe the base infrastructure should be the mailing list. Patches, branches and releases can live inside a mailing list, it is naturally built for... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Pijul and Fossil, you can also consider the following products

Mercurial SCM - Mercurial is a free, distributed source control management tool.

darcs - Darcs is an advanced revision control system, for source code or other files.

GitLab - Create, review and deploy code together with GitLab open source git repo management software | GitLab

Gitless - Gitless is an experimental version control system built on top of Git.

Git - Git is a free and open source version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. It is easy to learn and lightweight with lighting fast performance that outclasses competitors.

GitHub Desktop - GitHub Desktop is a seamless way to contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise.