+1 binding On Jun 19, 2015 3:16 AM, "Jacopo Cappellato" <jaco...@apache.org> wrote:
> Following the discussion in the thread [1], I would like to call a VOTE to > accept Freemarker as a new Apache Incubator project. > > The proposal is available on the wiki at [2] and is also attached to this > mail. > > The VOTE is open for at least the next 72 hours: > > [ ] +1 accept Freemarker into the Apache Incubator > [ ] ±0 Abstain > [ ] -1 because... > > Thank you, > > Jacopo Cappellato > > 1. > > http://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/incubator-general/201505.mbox/%3cccefe3ed-66c4-4766-a3d2-6d8bda855...@gmail.com%3e > > 2. > https://wiki.apache.org/incubator/FreemarkerProposal > > ====================================================== > > Freemarker Apache Incubator Proposal > > Abstract > > Freemarker is a "template engine", i.e., a generic tool to generate text > output based on templates. Freemarker is implemented in Java as a class > library for programmers. > > Freemarker is a mature, widely used template engine. We propose to make > Freemarker a top level project of the Apache Software Foundation, primarily > so that it can build a stronger developer community, which provides more > safety, stability and support to the large user base, and also helps > evolving the engine and its integration with other projects (many of which > are Apache projects). > > Proposal > > Freemarker is a "template engine"; a generic tool that generates text > output (HTML web pages, e-mails, configuration files, source code, etc.) > based on templates and changing data. It's not an application for end-users > in itself, but a Java library, a component that programmers can embed into > their products. > > Freemarker was originally created for generating HTML Web pages, > particularly in servlet-based applications following the MVC pattern. It’s > not bound to servlets or HTML, however. > > The Freemarker Template Language (FTL) is not a full-blown programming > language like PHP. It’s a simple, specialized language (although among > template languages it’s quite flexible). You meant to prepare the data to > display in a real programming language, like issue database queries and do > business calculations, and then the template displays that already prepared > data. > > Freemarker 1.x was initially released under the LGPL license. Later, by > community consensus, we have switched over to a BSD-style license. As of > Freemarker 2.2pre1 (2003), the original author, Benjamin Geer, has > relinquished the copyright in behalf of Visigoth Software Society, a > nonprofit organization started by Jonathan Revusky. With Freemarker 2.3.21 > (2014) the license has changed to Apache License, Version 2.0, and the > owner has changed from Visigoth Software Society to three of the Freemarker > 2.x developers, Attila Szegedi, Daniel Dekany, and Jonathan Revusky. Apache > License, Version 2.0, is the current license. > > Freemarker is a mature, widely used template engine. While it continues to > have a large user base, the active developer community has become rather > small at this point, and we think that the "Apache Way" governance model > and being part of the ASF (together with other projects that are already > using Freemarker) would help to bring new life and energy to the project to > better support the maintenance and improvements of the Freemarker codebase. > A larger community may also help to improve tooling (such as IDE plugins) > and integration with popular frameworks (such as Spring MVC, Struts, etc.), > which could foster the adoption of Freemarker. Last but not least, being > under the Apache umbrella would put the project into a more trustworthy > legal context, which also helps adoption, particularly among bigger > corporate users. > > We believe that Freemarker should become a Top Level Project as opposed to > a subproject because it has a long history and already a large feature set, > codebase and documentation and there is a lot of room for innovation and > improvement that would involve more community management; governance and > autonomy to make its own direction and manage its own community may be > important long term factors for the success of the project. > > Background > > A template engine is a template language with the basic infrastructure > around it (configuring, caching, etc.). A template language is a language > specialized on generating text based on changing data. Template languages > like Freemarker Template Language are by design much simpler than general > purpose languages, while providing convenient specialized language devices > for tasks that are frequent during text generation. > > Template engines, like Freemarker, play an important role in applications > that leverage the MVC (Model View Controller) pattern; for example, several > web applications and web application framework implement the MVC pattern in > the user interface layer: the appearance of a page can be changed without > programmers having to change or recompile code, because the application > logic (for example a Java program or a Groovy script) and page design (for > example a Freemarker template) are separated. Freemarker is used to > implement the View (V) component of the MVC pattern. > > Freemarker is also used for generating e-mail, configuration files, and > pretty much anything that’s text. The same governing MVC principles apply > there too, which helps to split the problem to more manageable pieces. > > Rationale > > Freemarker is a mature, stable, proven and feature rich template engine. > > While there are multiple alternative template engines for Java, after more > than 15 years of life, Freemarker is still one of the most featureful and > most widely used product in the category of templating engines for the Java > platform. Despite its age, Freemarker still has potential to improve its > functionality without breaking out-of-the-box backward compatibility, like > fixing historical design mishaps, adopting proven ideas from template > languages of other platforms, or to innovate with novel solutions to common > templating problems. > > Freemarker is integrated in several proprietary and open source products > such as Apache Struts, Apache OFBiz, Apache Camel, Liferay, Alfresco, > Magnolia, and new open source frameworks such as Moqui. Some popular IDEs, > including IntelliJ and Eclipse, have plugins for the development of > Freemarker templates. > > With Freemarker joining the ASF, we hope that more developers would be > able to join the effort and help improve and maintain the codebase, build > new features and tools that could foster the long-term future of the > product. > > Current Status > > Freemarker is a mature product created and maintained by a small open > source community for more than 15 years. > > Currently Freemarker provides a fully functional implementation licensed > under ALv2. The project home is at http://freemarker.org/ and the > majority of development is coordinated via Sourceforge ( > https://sourceforge.net/projects/freemarker/) and GitHub ( > https://github.com/freemarker/freemarker). > > The project sports detailed documentation and a big ecosystem of projects > leveraging it. In fact, quite a few existing ASF project have various > integrations with Freemarker (OFBiz, Struts, Camel etc.). > > Meritocracy > > Freemarker has been run by a few core project members with a few > contributions coming from a wide community of participants in the project. > In the past, core project members have emerged because of their activity > and merits as contributors. The Freemarker community is open to new ideas > and to revisit old ones. > > The committers and contributors that were actively involved in the project > will be encouraged to join the new incubating community. > > We want to expand our developer and user community and run the Freemarker > project in the "Apache Way" clearly signaling not only the licensing, but > also the governance choice. > > Users and new contributors will be treated with respect and welcomed; they > will earn merit in the project by providing quality patches and support > that move the project forward. Those with a proven support and quality > patch track record will be encouraged to become committers. Committers that > will work for the growth and health of the community will be invited to > become PMC members. > > Community > > There are currently just a few active core team members in the project and > a small group of occasional contributors. The user base is quite large and > composed by end users (developers using Freemarker for their job) and other > open source projects. > > Core Developers > > Core developers are used to work in the openly governed communities. The > core developers are not currently affiliated with the ASF. > > Alignment > > The Freemarker product is already licensed under ALv2 and has been created > and maintained by an open source community for more than a decade. > Freemarker has been integrated into Apache OFBiz, Apache Struts, Apache > Camel, Apache Tiles and other projects. Becoming part of the ASF family can > strengthen the collaboration with these and other projects. > > Known Risks > > While the Freemarker product is stable and very widely used, in the recent > years the active core developer community practically has shrunk to one > person (Daniel Dekany). The core group should grow by attracting new > contributors in order to ensure continued maintenance in the future, and to > win resources that helps Freemarker to evolve faster next to the > maintenance burden. > > In fact, if Freemarker will be accepted in the Incubator, the main goal > during the incubation phase will be attracting new contributors and growing > the community with an "Apache Way" governance model. > > Orphaned products > > The Freemarker project is backed up by an open source community that has > created and maintained the product for more than 15 years. > > Inexperience with Open Source > > The proposers are experienced open source developers. Freemarker to date > has been developed as an open source project. > > Homogeneous Developers > > The Freemarker community is not backed up by any corporation and is > diverse in terms of geography and backgrounds of developers. > > Reliance on Salaried Developers > > The Freemarker contributors are volunteers that are not paid for their > contributions to the project. > > Relationships with Other Apache Products > > Freemarker is an independent product but there are some relationships with > other Apache products. Freemarker currently uses some Apache products, > mostly in its build process (for example Apache Ant, Apache Ivy, Apache > Xalan). Freemarker has been integrated into other Apache products such as > Apache OFBiz, Apache Struts, Apache Camel, Apache Tiles. Becoming part of > the ASF family could strengthen the collaboration with these and other > projects. Apache Velocity is similar in purpose to Freemarker and both > address similar needs for a template language in text generating > applications. However Freemarker and Apache Velocity have a very different > philosophy, design and implementation and there is a sufficient user base > and history for both projects to justify their independent existence. > > An Excessive Fascination with the Apache Brand > > While we intend to leverage the Apache ‘branding’ when talking to other > projects as testament of our project’s ‘neutrality’, we have no plans for > making use of Apache brand in press releases nor posting billboards > advertising acceptance of Freemarker into Apache Incubator. > > Documentation > > A mature project website is available at freemarker.org. In the website a > complete manual is available: http://freemarker.org/docs/index.html > > Initial Source > > Initial source is available on GitHub under the ALv2: > > • https://github.com/freemarker/freemarker: The template engine > itself > • https://github.com/freemarker/site: Generates the freemarker.org > Web site > • https://github.com/freemarker/docgen: Transforms an XDocBook > subset to HTML; used for the Freemarker Manual. (Also for the Web site in > the future.) > > Source and Intellectual Property Submission Plan > > We know of no legal encumberments in the way of transfer of source to > Apache. The copyright holders are the three main contributors in the > history of the project, of which one is the current maintainer and main > actor in this incubation process. The other two have been contacted to sign > the Software License Agreement. > > External Dependencies > > The dependencies all have Apache compatible licenses. > > Required Resources > > Mailing lists > > • priv...@freemarker.incubator.apache.org (moderated > subscriptions) > • d...@freemarker.incubator.apache.org > • notificati...@freemarker.incubator.apache.org (commits, CI > reports) > > Git Repository > > • https://git-wip-us.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator-freemarker.git: > the template engine itself > • > https://git-wip-us.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator-freemarker-site.git: > generates the freemarker.org Web site > • > https://git-wip-us.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator-freemarker-docgen.git: > transforms an XDocBook subset to HTML; used for the Freemarker Manual (also > for the Web site in the future). > > Issue Tracking > > JIRA Freemarker (FREEMARKER) > > Initial Committers > > • Dániel Dékány, ddekany at freemail.hu > • Evangelia Dendramis, evangeliad at gmail.com > > Affiliations > > • Independent: Dániel Dékány > • Independent: Evangelia Dendramis > > Sponsors > > Champion > > Jacopo Cappellato > > Nominated Mentors > > • David E. Jones - Apache Member > • Jacopo Cappellato - Apache Member > • Jean-Frederic Clere - Incubator PMC > • Ralph Goers - Incubator PMC > • Sergio Fernández - Incubator PMC > > Sponsoring Entity > > We would like to propose Apache Incubator to sponsor this project. > >
