Re: A Merlin Top Level Project

I think this is the natural direction to go.  As Merlin has individuated,
it has become something like a proof that there cannot be a standard
Avalon container.  As such, it's a great idea to get the containers away
from the framework.

I'm committed to following Merlin's development, as sub- or top-level
project.

    Gary Shea

>
> Hi everyone.
>
> This mail is directed to EVERY USER of Merlin, if you just starting out,
> half
> way ahead and experienced, _please_ read and respond.
>
> == Abstract ==
> Avalon has yet again been under fire for making too much changes to the
> Avalon
> Legacy (read Framework, site and documentation), what constitutes
> compatible
> changes and how these changes are perceived by the Avalon-dependees, such
> as
> Excalibur, Cocoon, James and Loom. The aftermath of this last storm, makes
> _me_ believe that Avalon should NOT be the home of Merlin, and I am
> lobbying
> for the support of a Merlin Top Level Project.
>
> == Purpose ==
> Merlin is so much more than what the founders of Avalon anticipated, and
> the
> Merlin committer crew (esp. myself, Steve, Alex, and Timmothy) feels that
> there are an unnecessary restrictions on how we can evolve Merlin, without
> creating fear at the other projects depending on Avalon.
>
> We think it is better for Merlin to be a user of Avalon Framework, like
> Excalibur, Loom, James and Cocoon are, without any special privileges or
> obligations.
>
> The Merlin committers wants to forge ahead with a vision of a serious
> alternative/compliment to J2EE, where component oriented programming
> finally
> gets to its full potential as an efficiency enabler.
>
> We want to send a clear message that Merlin is not a 'project' shuffled
> into a
> backyard called Avalon, but that it is a serious _product_, on par with
> other
> ambitious products in ASF like Geronimo, Cocoon and Eve. Avalon have
> lately
> had as many or more web site visitors[1] than high profile projects like
> Struts, Tomcat and Ant. This is a sign that there is a strong interest out
> there, and that we need to channel this interest into a stronger
> community.
>
> I think that a Merlin Top Level Project is due, the technology and
> community
> is mature, the increased visibility will spark even higher interests, and
> that we can accelerate the development of the platform better without the
> concerns of Avalon legacy.
>
> The Merlin committer crew is also determined to increase the frequency of
> releases, especially on facilities and generic components. Less of our
> energy
> will be spent on the 'infamous in-fightings of Avalon', and we can serve
> the
> community better.
>
>
> == Mitigation of Consequence to Users ==
> This will not be a pain-free exercise.
> If we are granted "The Apache Merlin project" (http://merlin.apache.org),
> we
> will most probably be required to change the codebase package names.
>
> However, I hope that we will be able to bridge the inconvenience for the
> "Facilities Users", who would have wrong classnames for the facility
> declaration, so that Merlin will explicitly recognize both namespaces for
> some time, and generate a deprecation warning.
>
> Native normal components would work as without change.
>
> Blocks (aggregated components, i.e. block.xml files) should also work
> without
> change.
>
> Applications that embedds Merlin is the only major area, where we can't
> provide a smooth transition. I.e. import statements will have to change,
> but
> with modern IDEs (alt. some script files), the work would be fairly
> straight
> forward and quick.
>
>
> == YOUR action is required ==
>
> I NEED you to respond to this mail. If you like the sound of this idea,
> just
> send a mail to the list saying exactly that. If you think this is not a
> good
> idea, please express that too, to this list. This is not a vote, just a
> call
> for support.
>
> The more support I can rally from the users, the more likely the proposal
> will
> be viewed positively by the ASF Board, whio ultimately decides on this.
>
>
> Cheers
> Niclas
>
> [1]
> Daily stats (90 days):
> http://reverycodes.com/apache/stats/stats.pl?type=projects&day=&month=&year=&interval=day&periods=90&projects=ant&projects=avalon&projects=struts&projects=tomcat
>
> Monthly stats (6 months):
> http://reverycodes.com/apache/stats/stats.pl?type=projects&day=&month=&year=&interval=month&periods=6&projects=ant&projects=avalon&projects=struts&projects=tomcat
>
>
> --
>    +------//-------------------+
>   / http://www.bali.ac        /
>  / http://niclas.hedhman.org /
> +------//-------------------+
>
>
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