Re: A Merlin Top Level Project

Hi,

Good post by the way.

On Wed, 2004-07-21 at 21:42, Niclas Hedhman wrote:
> 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.

I believe that this is the only way to truely end the conflict with the
least impact to the user community.  A Merlin TLP will lead to a
separation of concerns (no pun intended) resulting in a healthier
balance between the interests of all parties.

> == 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.

Yes as a member of Excalibur and with the Excalibur hat on I must say
that I can sleep better at night when there is a clear line in the sand
as Berlin noted earlier.

> 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.

This is the only way to put to rest some of the valid concerns of the
Excalibur and Loom community.  This is the road to some semblance of
peace.

> 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.

Excellent.  I have many friends who depend and expect this to happen
across several financial institutions.  Again no pun intended but I
thinking they're banking on this.

> 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.

Yes I agree here as well.  I think people can just get back to work
without conflicting interests leading to flamefests.

> 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.

+1

Alex