Visualizing the commit history of some OSS projects
Found this stunning experiment in organic software visualization on Slashdot:
From the project website:
This visualization, called code_swarm, shows the history of commits in a software project. A commit happens when a developer makes changes to the code or documents and transfers them into the central project repository. Both developers and files are represented as moving elements. When a developer commits a file, it lights up and flies towards that developer. Files are colored according to their purpose, such as whether they are source code or a document. If files or developers have not been active for a while, they will fade away. A histogram at the bottom keeps a reminder of what has come before.
Check some of these open source projects visualizations: Eclipse, Python, PostgreSQL, and Apache. You’ll be amazed!