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It's about forking time: Node.js, io.js to mend differences, remerge

Server-side JavaScript tools reunited under wing of Linux Foundation

The Node.js open source project and its fork, io.js, have decided to kiss and make up, with the aid and support of the Linux Foundation.

Node.js is an open-source, OS-agnostic runtime environment that allows developers to write server-side web applications using JavaScript.

Several prominent Node.js developers forked its code base as io.js in December 2014, over concerns about how the project was being governed by Joyent, the company that created it.

Since then, Joyent has forged ahead with Node.js development and has even created a foundation to govern it, but the schism with io.js has remained an issue.

On Monday, the Linux Foundation said that it plans to announce on Tuesday that the two teams have resolved their differences and that both groups will merge their code into a single Node.js project once more.

The Node.js Foundation will henceforth act as a neutral forum for Node.js development, overseen by the Linux Foundation.

"As projects grow to the size of Node.js, they benefit from the neutrality, open governance and community that only a foundation can provide," Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin said in a statement emailed to The Register. "By tapping into the strength of an empowered, unified community, the Node.js Foundation will advance this rapidly growing platform that supports millions of users around the world."

As part of the merger, the Node.js and io.js Technical Committees will combine to form the new Node.js Foundation Technical Steering Committee, which will oversee development of the project and manage code contributions. A separate board of directors will manage the Foundation's business concerns.

Current Node.js Foundation member companies include DigitalOcean, Fidelity, IBM, Intel, Joyent, Microsoft, and PayPal, among others.

"From the earliest days of the project, Joyent has championed and aggressively invested in the growth of Node," Joyent CEO Scott Hammond said in a canned statement. "Now, the project has reached a level of adoption and maturity where it is best governed by a neutral, community-driven forum that can unite a broad spectrum of developers and stakeholders in the common goal of advancing Node." ®

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