The search engine giant Google (www.google.com) announced on March 18 the launch of Google Code (http://code.google.com), which will be a repository for source code, APIs, and C++- and Python-specific tools to assist developers working on Google-related projects. The initial tool releases include Perftools and Sparsehashtable, for developers working in C++, and Goopy/functional, for Python developers. Tools will be distributed through the SourceForge.net open-source programming site (www.sourceforge.net). Google’s latest effort has resurrected old programming tools to tap into new services such as Gmail (http://gmail.google.com) and Google Maps (http://maps.google.com).
Google's open-source program manager Chris DiBona said that the site also will profile current and ongoing projects to give developers a better sense of what's happening in the Google universe, and that one thing Google really wanted to put up on Google Code was a way of bringing recognition to those people and groups who have created programs that use Google’s APIs or the code Google has released.
Of the initial focus on C++ and Python, DiBona said that Google knows that this is a somewhat limited audience, that Google made this decision specifically so that Google can work with a smaller community to iron out any bugs in its release and ongoing maintenance processes, and that Google plans to release more tools useful to broader groups of developers.
