Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Pro Git VS Fossil

Compare Pro Git VS Fossil and see what are their differences

Pro Git logo Pro Git

The Git Book is the official tutorial about Git.

Fossil logo Fossil

Simple, high-reliability, distributed software configuration management
  • Pro Git Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-27
  • Fossil Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23

Pro Git features and specs

  • Comprehensive Content
    Pro Git provides extensive coverage on a wide range of topics, from basic to advanced Git functionalities, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced users.
  • Free and Open Source
    The book is available for free to read online, which makes it accessible to everyone. It is also open source, allowing the community to contribute.
  • Official Resource
    Being authored by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub, who are well-known figures in the Git community, it serves as an authoritative resource for learning Git.
  • Multiple Formats
    Available in multiple formats including HTML, PDF, ePub, and Mobi, it offers flexibility for readers to choose their preferred reading format.
  • Practical Examples
    The book includes practical examples and use-cases, making it easier to understand how to apply Git features in real-world scenarios.

Possible disadvantages of Pro Git

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive coverage, some beginners might find the depth of content overwhelming, making it challenging to grasp all concepts initially.
  • Outdated Information
    Some parts of the book might become outdated over time due to the evolving nature of Git and associated technologies. Regular updates are needed to keep it current.
  • Lack of Interactivity
    As a traditional book, it lacks interactive elements like quizzes or hands-on exercises that might be found in online courses or interactive tutorials.
  • Assumes Some Prior Knowledge
    The book assumes a basic understanding of version control concepts, which might not be suitable for absolute beginners who are new to version control systems.

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.

Pro Git 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 Pro Git and Fossil)
Git
77 77%
23% 23
Code Collaboration
64 64%
36% 36
Software Development
100 100%
0% 0
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pro Git seems to be a lot more popular than Fossil. While we know about 288 links to Pro Git, we've tracked only 26 mentions of Fossil. 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.

Pro Git mentions (288)

  • Ditching Obsidian and building my own
    Thanks for the reply. I do agree with sibling comment from tasuki that I think you’re missing the simpler solution of plain git repos to solve “owning your own data in a future-proof manner”. If you’re not trying to coordinate work among multiple people, and aren’t trying to enforce a single source of truth with code, you don’t _need_ “git server” software. You just need a git repository (folder & file structure)... - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • Beej's Guide to Git
    One mistake that I see people making about Git is trying to learn more commands, more flags, more tricks, but not trying to really understand how it works. Perhaps it's your case. You know Git enough to use in your daily basis, so maybe it's time to dive into a lower level and then everything else will be natural. I strongly suggest reading Pro Git, the official Git book by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub, available... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Common Workflows with Git
    I leaned this content in the Pro Git Book, which you can find here: https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Learn New Skills
    Following this format: 1. Pro Git, by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub (https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2) - Skill: Git, covering both high-level aspects (commiting, branching, GitHub/GitLab, etc) and its internals (objects, references, packfiles, protocols, etc) - Kind of material: free e-book, book and website - Why is it good: easy to read, even when approaching the inner aspects. It's very unlikely that you won't... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • My Open Source Journey: A Beginner-Friendly Guide to Collaboration and Growth
    Understanding version control is essential. Free resources like GitHub Docs and Pro Git Book can help you get started or you can go through this video. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
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Fossil mentions (26)

  • Git Bug: Distributed, Offline-First Bug Tracker Embedded in Git, with Bridges
    Fossil[0] has bug tracking as a standard feature, and through the HTTP role-based authentication, you are able to set up users with different privileges; for instance, being able to read and write the bug tracker without the ability to push new code. [0]: https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki. - Source: Hacker News / 10 days ago
  • 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 / 3 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
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What are some alternatives?

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

Learn Git Branching - "Learn Git Branching" is the most visual and interactive way to learn Git on the web; you'll be challenged with exciting levels, given step-by-step demonstrations of powerful features, and maybe even have a bit of fun along the way.

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

GitHub - Originally founded as a project to simplify sharing code, GitHub has grown into an application used by over a million people to store over two million code repositories, making GitHub the largest code host in the world.

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

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

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.