Samba Notes Passing a Milestone

2011-11-02

Perhaps this has happened to you... You're cruising down the highway on a long roadtrip when a sleepy voice from the back seat pipes up to say "We just passed a sign that says there was a historic battle here". You keep on driving, but maybe you think about how that battle may have changed history, and how the two sides have managed to resolve their differences and have moved forward since then.

If you follow the Samba Technical Mailing List (and who doesn't, I mean really), you may have noted a patch submission that came in on October 10th, 2011. As often happens, a couple of developers at a company found a way to improve core Samba code. They got permission to submit the patches under their own copyright and the terms of the GPL, and they sent the patches in.

It happens all the time in Samba, and we are always grateful. The only notable thing in this particular case is the company for which those developers work: Microsoft.

A few years back, a patch submission from coders at Microsoft would have been amazing to the point of unthinkable, but the battles are mostly over and times have changed. We still disagree on some things such as the role of software patents in preventing the creation of innovative software; but Microsoft is now at the forefront of efforts to build a stronger community and improve interoperability in the SMB world.

Most people didn't even notice the source of the contribution. That's how far things have come in the past four-ish years.

...but some of us saw this as a milestone, and wanted to make a point of expressing our appreciation for the patch and the changes we have seen.

This article was written by Chris Hertel - Samba Team.