+1
2007/8/30, Janne Jalkanen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Hello all! > > I am Janne Jalkanen, the lead developer of the open source wiki > engine called JSPWiki, and I have a proposal for your enjoyment. > This proposal is available in the web at http://www.jspwiki.org/wiki/ > ApacheJSPWikiProposal, should you wish to help us to make it better. > > /Janne > > --------- > > Abstract > > Apache JSPWiki will be a modular and user-extensible wiki-engine, > based on the open source JSPWiki software. > > Proposal > > JSPWiki is a wiki engine available under the Lesser General Public > License. It has a very modular construction, and integrates > relatively nicely with a bunch of enterprise systems. It is also > inherently embeddable, and has been incorporated as a component in a > few different commercial and open source products. > > The latest JSPWiki, 2.6, supports AJAX and full I18N, pluggable > backends, pluggable editors, an expressive markup, a plugin > framework, a filter framework, and built-in URL rewriting. > > JSPWiki also has a nice unit test set of over 700 unit tests which > have been invaluable in keeping compatibility between releases. > Background > > In the past few years, wikis have become a common collaborative tool. > They are light-weight, open, and easy to deploy. The English > Wikipedia, currently the largest public wiki site, contains nearly > two million pages. > > Wikis were originally designed to be small group collaboration tools, > but they have proven to be scalable to a large number of users, as > evidenced by the Wikipedia example. However, their most common use is > still within companies and other entities which deploy them as > collaboration tools, augmenting and even replacing traditional CSCW > tools. > > JSPWiki was originally created to address the same group > collaboration tool needs as so many other wiki engines. Its goals > were from the start to provide extensibility and user power, while > keeping the core functionality clear. Since it's inception in 2001, > it has grown to be one of the more popular open source wikiengines, > at least in the Java arena. It currently ships with the Sun Portal > Server 7, and features as an integral part of the Intland Codebeamer > development environment. > > Rationale > > JSPWiki has grown nicely over the past few years, and currently > averages around 2000 downloads monthly. The users-list has at the > writing of this 207 members, and the developers mailing list has 34 > members. There are currently six people with commit access to the CVS > codebase. > > However, there is a chasm to how large an open source project can > grow under a "benevolent dictator" –model. Many corporations are > relying on the JSPWiki code base, and joining Apache would lessen the > risks involved in using it, thus giving more entities an opportunity > to use this advanced project. Joining Apache would make us less > dependent on individual developers and would strengthen our community. > > We also feel that the introduction of Apache processes would increase > the code quality, as well as bring more interested developers to this > project. > > Apache is also lacking a wiki engine. It is currently using either > commercial software (Confluence) or Python-based wiki software > (MoinMoin) as its own projects. As wikis are becoming the workhorse > of many projects, we feel that it would bring a good addition to the > Apache community. > > Initial Goals > > The initial goals of the project is to release JSPWiki 2.8 under the > Apache license: > > * Bring in the JSPWiki 2.6 stable code base into Apache and > apply Apache licensing and remove incompatible dependencies (see > ApacheRelicensing for more discussion.) > * Release JSPWiki 2.8 as a clone of JSPWiki 2.6 - with some bug > fixes and Apache licensing, however keeping compatibility with > JSPWiki 2.6. This means that we cannot e.g. change the package naming > from "com.ecyrd.jspwiki" or else all old plugins will fail. It is yet > unclear whether this will be acceptable to ASF. > > After that, we will start working on JSPWiki 3.0: > > * Clean up our metadata and backend support by adding JSR-170 > repository support > * Adoption of a more flexible web framework (Stripes, an Apache- > licensed project) > * Multi-wiki support (so-called WikiFarms, or WikiWebs or > WikiSpaces) > * Move to "org.apache.jspwiki" -structure, breaking > compatibility with 2.x series > * Cleanup of the APIs and some refactoring which has been due > for a long time > > Current Status > > JSPWiki code base is relatively stable, and even though some parts > are certainly showing their age, the code is clearly laid out (we > originally used the Avalon coding conventions, but since then it has > been slightly modified), and is often thanked for its clarity. We use > the Facade and Adapter patterns extensively across JSPWiki. > > The current development practice has mostly been a Linux-like > "benevolent dictator" -model. There have been no major clashes on the > mailing lists, and the community tends to be helpful, even if > sometimes a little slow in helping others. > > Meritocracy > > JSPWiki has always tried to grant commit access to people who have > proven themselves as willing and capable of contributing to the code > base, UI design, documentation, etc. We will certainly continue this > practice, as it has proven to be very useful. We hope that the Apache > process will make it even more practical. > > Community > > JSPWiki has existed since 2001, and during its life, the community > has been growing steadily. Currently there is some 200-odd members on > the jspwiki-users mailing list, and 34 members on the jspwiki-dev- > users mailing list. > > JSPWiki has also been a subject of some scientific papers, and is > used as a development platform. > > Core Developers > > The core developers consist of Janne Jalkanen (Finnish, the original > lead developer and still the person with the most commits), Andrew > Jaquith (USA, a security guru), Dirk Frederickx (Belgium, our user > experience specialist), Christoph Sauer (Germany, the maintainer of > the WikiWizard editor), and Juan Pablo Santos Rodríguez (Spain, the > i18n specialist). > > We are a diverse group, though concentrated mostly in the Western > countries. > > Alignment > > We use Tomcat as our main development platform, and we are already > using a large number of Apache components from Log4j and regexps to > Commons Lang. > > In the future, we are planning to turn our backend to use JSR-170, > which makes Apache Jackrabbit an obvious bit of the future, though > the migration from our current repository model is still unclear. > > Our coding rules are also based on Apache Avalon coding rules. > > Known Risks > > Changing a large code base from one license to another always entails > risks. There may be users who might object to moving from GNU to > Apache on idealistic grounds, but most of the users will probably > take a pragmatic approach. > > Another problem may be if we cannot locate suitable non-GPL options > for our components. This may mean long delays, as we may need to > develop alternatives ourselves. > > Also, the move is likely – at least initially – to divert resources > from development to bureucracy. This is likely to strain a nerve or > two. This can hopefully be mitigated by the Mentors by providing > clear guidance. > > To be fully blunt, I (Janne Jalkanen) also feel a bit queasy on > giving control of JSPWiki – my pet, which I have groomed for many > years – away to a foundation. However, this is something which is > better in long term for JSPWiki, and therefore it is worth the > sacrifices. > > JSPWiki 2.8 is designed to be a low-risk, low-hanging-fruit type of a > release, assuming that ASF is fine with the package not being in the > "org.apache" hierarchy. If not, we have no choice but to wait until > 3.0 since breaking the binary compatibility twice in a row would mean > problems for all developers. > Orphaned products > > Since JSPWiki has been lead using a "benevolent dictator" –model, the > largest knowledge of the code base rests on Janne Jalkanen. Janne has > no plans to leave JSPWiki development, but certainly there is a need > to get more people who have an intimate knowledge of the code base > (and the decisions thereof). > > Inexperience with Open Source > > JSPWiki was started as an open source project in June 2001, and has > remained an open source project since. Issue tracking and mailing > lists have been open to everyone from day one. > > Homogenous Developers > > The current list of committers includes people from five countries, > four timezones and two continents. Regular patches come in also from > other countries. > > Reliance on Salaried Developers > > There are currently no people on the committer list who get paid to > work on JSPWiki. However, we do get patches from a number of > companies with a vested interest in JSPWiki. > > JSPWiki is in no way reliant on salaried coders. > > Relationships with Other Apache Products > > JSPWiki uses quite a few different Apache projects already, and, of > course, runs on top of Tomcat (though it has been developed to be > pure J2EE only and in no way relies on any specific functionality). > > In the future, we expect to integrate somewhat with Jackrabbit. > > A Excessive Fascination with the Apache Brand > > JSPWiki could continue on its own, no worries. However, we do feel > that our customers and users would feel more comfortable if there was > a "name" attached to it – because it lessens the risk of JSPWiki just > going away some day. > > To be frank, we are more interested in the Apache processes and the > stability Apache would bring to the project than the actual name. We > also hope that Apache will adopt us as their wiki solution ;-) > > Documentation > > The chief JSPWiki resource is the http://www.jspwiki.org/ web site. > It is further amended by the JSPWiki documentation site (http:// > doc.jspwiki.org/2.4) as well as the JSPWiki-users and JSPWiki-dev > mailing list archives at http://ecyrd.com/pipermail/jspwiki-users/ > and http://ecyrd.com/pipermail/jspwiki-dev/. > > Initial Source > > There is an initial source base of approximately 70,000 lines of > code. (According to an estimate by the Ohloh code search engine, this > amounts to roughly 17 person years). > > Source and Intellectual Property Submission Plan > > * jspwiki.org domain from Janne Jalkanen > * JSPWiki source code from all contributors (CLAs need to be done) > > External Dependencies > > JSPWiki is relying already extensively on a number of Apache-licensed > libraries. However, we are also using some LGPL-based libraries, > which will either need to be replaced or rewritten. The current list > of dependencies and the migration plan is available here: > > http://www.jspwiki.org/wiki/ApacheRelicensing > > Cryptography > > JSPWiki uses only cryptography methods (hash codes) available in the > J2SE itself. There is one exception to this rule, however: we use a > slightly modified version of the Apache Tomcat's HexUtils for > converting byte arrays into hexadecimal digits. > (org.apache.catalina.util.HexUtils). > > Required Resources > > Mailing lists > > JSPWiki currently operates on two mailing lists - jspwiki- > [EMAIL PROTECTED], and [EMAIL PROTECTED] It would be good to > continue these both also under Apache Incubation, with the addition > of the mandatory jspwiki-private. A jspwiki-commits -list might also > be useful. > > * jspwiki-users (contains the existing members of the jspwiki- > users) > * jspwiki-dev (the members of the existing jspwiki-dev) > * jspwiki-commits (new list for announcing commits to the svn > repository) > * jspwiki-private (for the PPMC, with moderated subscriptions) > > Subversion Directory > > JSPWiki code base should be named "jspwiki", as in > > https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator/jspwiki > > Issue Tracking > > Current JSPWiki bug tracking is done at http://bugs.jspwiki.org/, > using Bugzilla 3.0. It would be good to be able to move the current > bug list to the Apache Bugzilla. The project name should be "JSPWiki". > > If the bug list cannot be moved, then we can continue to use the > JSPWiki bug tracker. > Other Resources > > * www.jspwiki.org website > * doc.jspwiki.org > * blog.jspwiki.org > * sandbox.jspwiki.org (wiped at noon GMT with a custom script). > * bugs.jspwiki.org > > Some or all of these can be moved to Apache. However, deeper > discussions need to be made on which ones Apache is willing to host. > > Initial Committers > > * Janne Jalkanen ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > * Andrew Jaquith ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > * Dirk Frederickx ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > * Christoph Sauer ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > * Juan Pablo Santos Rodríquez ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > * Murray Altheim ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > None of the initial committers have yet submitted a CLA. > > Affiliations > > Janne Jalkanen works as a Project Manager in Nokia, but his work has > nothing to do with JSPWiki. > > Andrew Jaquith is a senior analyst at Yankee Group, an ICT research > and consulting firm. He covers security for Yankee. Nokia, curiously, > is one of Yankee's customers, but apparently not the part that Janne > works for. :) > > Christoph Sauer is a researcher at the Heilbronn University, Germany. > He is a Project Manager at the Heilbronn Universities i3G Institute, > which offers business services for small and medium sized companies. > > Juan Pablo Santos works as a Software Engineer in Secuenzia, an IT > consulting firm in Madrid. > > Sponsors > > Champion > > Champion: Dave Johnson > Nominated Mentors > > People who have announced their willingness to be Mentors are > > * Dave Johnson > * Sam Ruby > * Henning Schmiedehausen > > Sponsoring Entity > > Sponsoring entity should be the Incubator. > PPMC > > The PPMC shall consist of initial committers and the Mentors. > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >
