“the apache way” and how it can help research projects

openlaws.eu - OS Workshop, 26.06.2015, Vienna, Austria

“The Apache Way” and How it can help Research

ProjectsJakob Frank

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


OpenSource Workshop, 26.06.2015, Vienna, Austria Jakob Frank

About MeJakob Frank

● Researcher @ KMT, Salzburg [email protected]

● Solution Architect @ Redlink [email protected]

● Committer, PMC Member @ Apache Marmotta, [email protected]

http://at.linkedin.com/in/jakobfrank

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/










Background● Apache Marmotta

○ Donated to the ASF in 2012○ Previously

■ KiWi (FP7 Project)■ LMF (SNML-TNG, K-Project)

○ Currently■ MICO (FP7 Project)■ Fusepool P3 (FP7 Project)



Background● Apache Stanbol

○ Donated to the ASF in 2011○ Originated from IKS (FP7 Project)○ Currently used in Fusepool P3 (FP7 Project)



“The Apache Way”Although the term is deprecated, “The Apache Way” relates to how the ASF (and its projects) work and operate

… but what is the ASF and how does it work?



The ASFASF == Apache Software Foundation

● Non-profit corporation, founded 1999● 501(c)3 charity (US)● Volunteer organization● Virtual world-wide organization● Exists to provide the organizational, legal, and financial

support for various OSS projects



The ASF - today● > 400 members● > 150 TLPs● ~ 40 podlings● Tons of committers (literally)

○ (> 4900 people, and growing)● Very large and growing infrastructure



The ASF’s Mission● Provide open source software to the public free of

charge● Provide a foundation for open, collaborative software

development projects by supplying hardware, communication, and business infrastructure

● Create an independent legal entity to which companies and individuals can donate resources and be assured that those resources will be used for the public benefit



The ASF’s Mission● Provide a means for individual volunteers to be

sheltered from legal suits directed at the Foundation’s projects

● Protect the ‘Apache’ brand, as applied to its software products, from being abused by other organizations

● Provide legal and technical infrastructure for open source software development and to perform appropriate oversight of such



How the ASF worksThe Apache Software Foundation provides support for the Apache community of open-source software projects. The Apache projects are characterized by a collaborative, consensus based development process, an open and pragmatic software license, and a desire to create high quality software that leads the way in its field. We consider ourselves not simply a group of projects sharing a server, but rather a community of developers and users.



How the ASF works - 2nd try

● Community over code

● The code should be exceptional



Structure of the ASF - dev● Volunteer Driven Organization ● Software Projects are managed by Project

Management Committees (PMCs) ● PMCs vote in new PMC members and

committers ● At the end of the day: People / Individual

focused



Structure of the ASF - legal● Member-based corporation - individuals only ● Members nominate and elect new members ● Members elect a board - 9 seats ● Semi-annual meetings via IRC● Each PMC has a Chair - eyes and ears of

the board (oversight only)



ASF “Org Chart”

PMC Members

Committers

Contributors

Patchers

Users

Members

Officers

Board

Projects Foundation



The Apache Way - Basic Memes● Meritocracy● Peer-based● Consensus decision making● Collaborative development● Responsible oversight



Meritocracy● “Govern by Merit”● Merit is based on what you do● Merit never expires● Those with merit get more responsibility



Peer-based● Developers represent themselves -

individuals● Mutual trust and respect● All votes hold the same weight● Community over code

○ Healthy communities create healthy code



Consensus decision making● Key is the idea of voting

○ +1 - yes○ +0 - no real comment○ -1 - veto

● Often you also see things like -0, -0.5, ...



Voting● The rule of 3 and 72

○ 3 voters is the minimal acceptable quorum○ 72 hours minimum time frame for votes

● Everyone is welcome to vote○ committers have “binding” votes

● Vetos○ must be justified and have sound technical merit○ cannot be overruled if valid○ very rare



Collaborative Development● Code is developed by the community● Voting ensures at least 3 active developers● Development happens publicly, online and

on-list○ “If it didn’t happen on the list, it didn’t happen”



Collaborative Development● Mailing lists are the preferred method

○ Archived○ Asynchronous○ Available to anyone - public list

● Other methods are OK, if not primary○ Wiki, IRC, F2F○ Always bring the essence back to the list



Responsible oversight● PMCs

○ provide technical oversight of all project releases○ ensure clean IP in all Apache releases○ new committers/PMC member

● Board ○ provides organizational oversight of all Apache

projects○ ensure PMCs function independently



The Apache Incubator● New projects (podling) start in the incubator● Mentors teach how the ASF works● Graduation

○ prove to be a healthy and growing community○ prove to be able to release the software○ IP clearance



Apache Software License 2.0● open source● permissive● commercial usage allowed

Additional Guarantee for Apache Projects:● All direct dependencies are ASL2 compatible

http://www.apache.org/legal/resolved.html#category-a





Apache for Research Projects● ASL2 - clear licensing

○ partners can use the outcome● Long-Term perspective

○ Software and Community beyond the project● Broadens community

○ It’s likely that people from outside the research project join



Apache for Research Projects● “The Apache Way”

○ works good for diverse & distributed teams○ mailing-lists○ voting

● Dissemination○ “Apache” makes good marketing○ marketing opportunity, also great in reviews



Apache for Research Projects● Giving up control

○ no guarantee - contributions can be rejected by the community

○ research-project cannot force direction● Overhead

○ Community building, releases, licensing, ...● Licensing limitations

○ strict rules for 3rd-party libraries (e.g. no GPL)○ work-arounds available



Thanks“The Apache Way” and How it can help Research Projects

based on material from http://community.apache.org/speakers/slides.html

The Apache Software Foundation● http://www.apache.org/ ● http://incubator.apache.org/● http://community.apache.org/

Apache Marmotta ● http://marmotta.apache.org/

Apache Stanbol ● http://stanbol.apache.org/

acknowledgements to the MICO FP7 project(grant no. 610480) http://www.mico-project.eu/


https://community.apache.org/speakers/slides.html

http://apache.org/

http://apache.org/

http://incubator.apache.org/

http://incubator.apache.org/

http://community.apache.org/

http://community.apache.org/

http://marmotta.apache.org/

http://marmotta.apache.org/

http://stanbol.apache.org/

http://stanbol.apache.org/

http://www.mico-project.eu/

“the apache way” and how it can help research projects

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