GitHub Launches 'Actions' -- Code That Can Be Run (and Maybe Monetized) (techcrunch.com) 39
An anonymous reader quotes TechCrunch:
For the longest time, GitHub was all about storing source code and sharing it either with the rest of the world or your colleagues. Today, the company, which is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, is taking a step in a different but related direction by launching GitHub Actions. Actions allow developers to not just host code on the platform but also run it. We're not talking about a new cloud to rival AWS here, but instead about something more akin to a very flexible IFTTT for developers who want to automate their development workflows, whether that is sending notifications or building a full continuous integration and delivery pipeline.
This is a big deal for GitHub. Indeed, Sam Lambert, GitHub's head of platform, described it to me as "the biggest shift we've had in the history of GitHub... I see Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery as one narrow use case of actions. It's so, so much more," Lambert stressed. "And I think it's going to revolutionize DevOps because people are now going to build best in breed deployment workflows for specific applications and frameworks, and those become the de facto standard shared on GitHub... It's going to do everything we did for open source again for the DevOps space and for all those different parts of that workflow ecosystem...."
Over time -- and Lambert seemed to be in favor of this -- GitHub could also allow developers to sell their workflows and Actions through the GitHub marketplace. For now, that's not an option, but it it's definitely that's something the company has been thinking about. Lambert also noted that this could be a way for open source developers who don't want to build an enterprise version of their tools (and the sales force that goes with that) to monetize their efforts.
This is a big deal for GitHub. Indeed, Sam Lambert, GitHub's head of platform, described it to me as "the biggest shift we've had in the history of GitHub... I see Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery as one narrow use case of actions. It's so, so much more," Lambert stressed. "And I think it's going to revolutionize DevOps because people are now going to build best in breed deployment workflows for specific applications and frameworks, and those become the de facto standard shared on GitHub... It's going to do everything we did for open source again for the DevOps space and for all those different parts of that workflow ecosystem...."
Over time -- and Lambert seemed to be in favor of this -- GitHub could also allow developers to sell their workflows and Actions through the GitHub marketplace. For now, that's not an option, but it it's definitely that's something the company has been thinking about. Lambert also noted that this could be a way for open source developers who don't want to build an enterprise version of their tools (and the sales force that goes with that) to monetize their efforts.
Will Microsoft ruin GitHub? (Score:1)
Is that the death of GitHub?
MS controlling what code can and cannot be run (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really, no. (Score:2)
Dude, chill. It's a process automation tool like Apple Automator or Gulp or something. If they change functionality or start locking in, it takes less than an hour to migrate your stuff back to bash, Gradle, Python or whatever your pipeline is built on.
Re: Not really, no. (Score:3)
IFTTT? (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah we all know what that means.
Re: (Score:3)
You should, if you dont you are considered more jr as a dev, or at least that has been th case in most of my roles since its release.
Not every dev does web programming, you sanctimonious ass.
Re: (Score:2)
My manager at work told me to work on some stupid project integrating SAP with our DC conveyor system, but I said "dude, that's whack, if we're not kicking out some serious recipes on IFTTT then we're getting left behind!"
Re: (Score:2)
It took me a few moments to recognize it as well. "If This Then That". The acronym is, I believe, based on a site of the same name that monitors other websites, and allows them to trigger changes in your own online "apps". It's essentially a shorthand for saying "user programmable triggers hosted in the cloud".
Microsoft Arrived with a Bone Saw (Score:1)
If this is such a great idea, create an independent site to try it out.
Don't screw with the best commons that open source developers have.
This is using GitHub to try and hide your real intentions.
Go Away!!
Nope. (Score:2)
I know at least one high profile technology driven company that hosts *everything* on GitHub. I mean *everything*. Their secrets are encrypted though. But stored on GitHub.
They're doing pretty well and AFAICT their pipeline is as good as it gets.
The cool thing about Github is that it's hardly more than Git with a webgui that everybody knows. Meaning you can transition your entire pipeline to something else and self-hosted with a few mouseclicks and a little shell-scripting.
Security (Score:2)
Security Nightmare???
Re:Security (Score:4, Funny)
Security Nightmare???
Nah, how could incorporating third-party actions, running on a server you don’t manage or control, into your devops workflow be a security issue?
You’re being needlessly paranoid.
Microsoft is poorly managed? Plenty of evidence. (Score:4, Interesting)
Microsoft is poorly managed. There is plenty of evidence for that:
Windows 10 is possibly the worst spyware ever made. [networkworld.com] "Buried in the service agreement is permission to poke through everything on your PC." (Aug. 4, 2015)
Microsoft's Intolerable Windows 10 Aggression [ecommercetimes.com] (May 27, 2016)
Microsoft is infesting Windows 10 with annoying ads [theverge.com] (March 17, 2017)
Microsoft, stop sabotaging Windows 10. [infoworld.com] (March 21, 2017)
Re: (Score:2)
Is this bad management? Or just evil management?
Buzzword Bingo (Score:2)
people are now going to build best in breed deployment workflows for specific applications and frameworks, and those become the de facto standard shared
yikes!
I think it looks promising. (Score:2)
Finally a process automator that doesn't use obscure bloated JSON/YAML stuff but a neat visual point-and-click modeller to build your pipeline. I'm definitely going to try it out. I wouldn't be surprised if you can even export the processes as JS or something.
As for MS, I like some of what they've been doing lately and they've even got a little Karma back with me. VS Code and TypeScript are two pretty neat FOSS projects, you have to give them that. And this from someone for whom the last MS thing he used wa
Meaning (Score:2)
"Today, the company, which is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft,"
the company, which is in the process of becoming garbage.