Linus Torvalds: Linux and git are innovations in process, not software

From a TechCrunch interview with Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel:

In fact, to get a bit “meta” on this issue, what’s even more interesting than improving a piece of software, is to improve the *way* we write and improve software. Changing the process of making software has sometimes been some of the most painful parts of software development (because we so easily get used to certain models), but that has also often been the most rewarding parts. It is, after all, why “git” came to be, for example. And I think open source in general is obviously just another “process model” change that I think is very successful.

It’s impossible for me to overstate the importance of adopting development models from open-source software and from distributed version-control systems like git. After spending nearly 10 years working on Gentoo Linux, I’m deeply familiar with how huge of an advantage these processes give you. You don’t even need to use open source to learn from what the OSS world is doing — just leverage the same techniques within your company.

Disclosure: Neither the Linux Foundation nor the Gentoo Foundation is a client.