Editing Fork (software development) (section)

{{Short description|Independent software derived from existing software}}
{{redirect|Fork (software)|the operation whereby a process creates a copy of itself|fork (system call)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
[[File:Linux Distribution Timeline.svg|thumb|upright|A timeline chart showing the evolution of [[Linux distribution]]s, with each split in the diagram being called "a fork"]]
In [[software development]], a '''fork''' is a [[codebase]] that is created by duplicating an existing codebase and, generally, is subsequently modified independently of the original. [[Software]] [[software build|built]] from a fork initially has identical behavior as software built from the original code, but as the [[source code]] is increasingly modified, the resulting software tends to have increasingly different behavior compared to the original.{{Example needed|date=June 2024}} A fork is a form of [[branching (revision control)|branching]], but generally involves storing the forked files separately from the original; not in the [[software repository|repository]]. Reasons for forking a codebase include user preference, stagnated or discontinued development of the original software or a [[schism]] in the developer community.<ref>"Schism", with its connotations, is a common usage, e.g.
* [http://www.jwz.org/doc/lemacs.html "the Lemacs/FSFmacs schism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130093142/http://www.jwz.org/doc/lemacs.html|date=30 November 2009}} ([[Jamie Zawinski]], 2000)
* [https://lwn.net/Articles/419822/ "Behind the KOffice split"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706094238/http://lwn.net/Articles/419822/|date=6 July 2013}} (Joe Brockmeier, ''Linux Weekly News'', 2010-12-14)
* [http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Copyright-assignment-Once-bitten-twice-shy-1049631.html "Copyright assignment – once bitten, twice shy"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330153250/http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Copyright-assignment-Once-bitten-twice-shy-1049631.html|date=30 March 2012}} (Richard Hillesley, ''H-Online'', 2010-08-06)
* [http://dashes.com/anil/2010/09/forking-is-a-feature.html "Forking is a feature"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229032536/http://dashes.com/anil/2010/09/forking-is-a-feature.html|date=29 February 2012}} ([[Anil Dash]], 2010-09-10)
* [http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000101 "The Great Software Schism"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106065841/http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000101|date=6 January 2012}} ([[Glyn Moody]], ''Linux Journal'', 2006-09-28)
* [http://mako.cc/writing/to_fork_or_not_to_fork.html "To Fork Or Not To Fork: Lessons From Ubuntu and Debian"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226160810/http://mako.cc/writing/to_fork_or_not_to_fork.html|date=26 February 2012}} ([[Benjamin Mako Hill]], 2005).</ref> Forking proprietary software (such as [[Unix]]) is prohibited by [[copyright]] law without explicit permission, but [[free and open-source software]], by definition, may be forked without permission.