Wavers. It is a very positive sign that the Wave project has seen increase activity in recent weeks. However, recent conversations point to the fact that we are at a decision point with Apache Wave.
History ------- Google donated quite a bit of code to Apache for the Wave project. It is somewhat functional and is what the community is using to drive towards a release. However, the current community has little expedience with the code base. We didn't designed it and in many cases we don't understand it. As many have pointed out the code base is 1) Not easy to develop, 2) Hard to learn, 3) and not modularized between the client and server. These issues are hampering WiaB's adoption. Several people have suggested rewriting the codebase to separate the server and client and to greatly simplify the architecture. I think as a community we need to decide what we want to do. I have put forth three options which I would like the community to comment on. 1) Keep the current code base and just push ahead. Pros: ----- - We have a functional codebase that we evolve over time. - Potentially graduate sooner. Cons: ----- - Hard to get new developers excited about working with the code base. - Poetnetially slows the evolution of a scalable architecture that delivers what the community is asking for. 2) Ditch the current code base and start new. Pros: ----- - We can design something that meets the community needs. - We can simply the design from the beginning. Cons: ----- - We are very close to a release, this approach would set back future releases. 3) Keep the current code base AND start a new one. Pros: ----- - Can keep driving through the apache process. - We still have a working product. - We can start the redesign now. Cons: ----- - We barely have enough developers to maintain the current codebase. - If interest in the new codebase takes off, existing codebase would atrophy. Comments please. Thanks. ~Michael
