io.js, the project that forked from Node.js at the end of 2014, has decided to join the recently established Node.js Foundation, effectively remerging with Node.js.
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The Node.js Foundation was initiated in February by Joyent, the main sponsors of Node.js and the Linux Foundation. As we reported at the time, this move was motivated partly by a desire on the part of Scott Hammond, CEO of Joyent. to bring io.js back into the main project.
Even though it had only forked two months earlier already io.js was already making its mark as "node.js on steroids" for the degree of activity and the amount of progress being made on the forked branch, in contrast to the reduced level of commits on Joyent node.js.
This chart looks at core commits per month for Node.js since 2009 to May 2015 with io.js being those in gold at the far right.
While io.js was making progress with the node.js project, it needed organizational backing that fitted in with its commitment to open governance, and a liberal contributing policy.
Mikeal Rogers argued that io.js needed to have a foundation that would be:
a neutral organization that can support a project still governed by its community.
intended to serve as the beginnings of a guide for merging the existing joyent/node and iojs/io.js repositories.
In making the case for the merger Rogers pointed out:
The new "converged" node project will begin with io.js master and port changes from node.js in for its first release target.
His proposal has received 200 comments in less than a week. While some were in favor of a constructing a foundation around io.js and reservations were expressed about corporate involvement in the Node.js Foundation, the majority opinion has been in favor of moving io.js into the Node.js Foundation. Now the idea has been adopted a lot of enthusiasm is being expressed.
For Node.js users outside its developer community having io.js remerged into the project with the rift healed seems a very postive reversal. It is to be hoped that the regular release approach favored by io.js becomes the norm for the re-united project.
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