Thanks for the detailed proposal. Generally, the Apache Incubator takes existing projects with a pre-existing community. We emphasise community over code so it may be feasible to start a new project if you have a community.
Do you have a list of people who would be willing to collaborate on this? The existing Incubator contributor pool, generally, doesn't act as a pool of people who jump onto new projects. There is the concept of a mentor who helps new projects to get up and running - more from an admin and setup perspective. On 2025/03/14 06:26:50 Imre Tabur wrote: > Dear Apache Incubator Community, > > I would like to start a discussion about an idea to start the > development of a new Java library, designed to simplify > the implementation and setup of custom communication protocols, > particularly for networked environments and device > interactions (e.g., serial ports, proprietary network protocols). > > A library for building and setting up I/O (read/write, send/receive) > protocols. Custom, non-standard, > proprietary, domain-, and vendor-specific protocol implementations, > while remaining loosely coupled from the data > structures (message data structures) being transferred. > > ## Background: Why is this Needed? > > In many projects, developers must work with proprietary or > vendor-specific communication I/O protocols that are not > based on widely supported implementations like HTTP (REST, GraphQL, > etc.) for which libraries exist. And the protocol > needs to be implemented by developers themselves. Shortly: no libraries > to take. > > ### Use cases > > * Integrating with (legacy) serial port devices in industrial systems. > * Implementing vendor-specific communication for IoT gateways or edge > devices. > * Interacting with specialized network or hardware devices in > telecommunications or data centers. > * Developing custom communication protocols for specific use cases, > between devices and systems. > > Such protocols often require developers to implement custom solutions > from scratch, following detailed technical > documentation or specifications provided by the (protocol) vendor. > > The problem is that doing it yourself is labor-intensive, requires > precision, and is tedious work. The larger the > specification, the greater the struggle with implementation. It is also > quite difficult to recall and follow what was > done later on. Additionally, there is little reusable code, and > identifying parts of the code that can be reused is also > difficult. > > This project aims to address these issues by providing a reusable > library that simplifies working with such > vendor-specific protocols, reducing development time and ensuring > consistency across implementations. > > # Proposed Solution: A Graph-Based Approach to Protocols > > The proposed library simplifies the development of custom client-server > (sender-receiver and vice versa) communication > protocols by representing them as execution graphs. > > In this model: > > * Nodes in the graph represent protocol steps - reading or writing data > (receive or send). > * Edges define the flow of execution between steps, governed by > configurable rules and conditions. > > The library provides functionality to build and execute graphs, handle > basic I/O operations (and potentially more), > bind data structures to steps (or with the whole defined graph) to carry > over protocol, handle events, and manage a > callback system. > > **I assume that a graph, even when implemented in (fluent) code, is more > readable (repairable/improvable) than a fully > custom implementation.** > > By abstracting protocol logic into an execution graph, the library > minimizes the complexity of handling vendor-specific > communication requirements and promotes easier maintenance. > > The MVP implementation of the library will focus exclusively on Java to > validate the concept and gather community > feedback before considering broader adoption or porting to other > languages like C++ or other. > > # Summary > > To summarize, this project aims to simplify the implementation of > non-standard protocols by providing a graph-based > framework that can handle basic I/O operations on its own through a > defined graph. Most of the basic I/O functions are > handled within the library, compared to a custom-made solution where > everything is cross-referenced and tightly coupled. > > The initial focus will be on Java, with the potential for future > expansion based on community input. > > The initial base structure, skeleton, and proof of concept (PoC) will be > independently developed by me and my team as a > preliminary effort in our own repository, serving as an example for > further development and eventual transition into the > Apache Incubator. > > # Feedback Request > > The idea is still quite abstract, but I would greatly appreciate your > feedback: > > - Do you see value in such a project? > - Does this project align with ASF's ecosystem and goals? > - Is it potential ASF software? > - Are there existing projects or initiatives that we should consider or > learn from? > > Looking ahead: > > - Would anyone be interested in collaborating, contributing or providing > feedback during development? > - Would anyone be interested in mentoring? > > If this aligns with your interests or expertise, please share your > thoughts, questions, or suggestions. > > Thank you! > > Best regards, > Imre Tabur > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscr...@incubator.apache.org > For additional commands, e-mail: general-h...@incubator.apache.org > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscr...@incubator.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: general-h...@incubator.apache.org
