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Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:24:57 +0000
From: Ross Gardler <rgardler@apache.org>
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To: general@incubator.apache.org
Subject: Re: [VOTE] Accept Jena into the incubator
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+1 from me, of course

On 17/11/2010 13:10, Ross Gardler wrote:
> Please vote on the acceptance of JENA into the incubator. The proposal
> can be found at http://wiki.apache.org/incubator/JenaProposal and is
> copied below.
>
> [ ] +1 Accept Jena for incubation
> [ ] +0 Don't care
> [ ] -1 Reject for the following reason:
>
> The vote is open for at least 72 hours.
>
> Thanks,
> Ross
>
> = Jena, a Semantic Web Framework =
> == Abstract ==
> Jena is a semantic web framework for Java, based on W3C standards.
>
> == Proposal ==
> Jena provides a semantic web framework in Java that implements the key
> W3C recommendations for the core semantic web technologies of RDF and
> SPARQL. Jena is a number of components and modules built on this core
> system. It currently includes:
>
> * an API for working with RDF
> * Parsers and writers for the RDF formats (RDF/XML, Turtle, N-triples,
> NQuads, TriG)
> * an implementation of SPARQL, the W3C standard RDF query language
> * multiple storage systems for RDF data including in-memory,
> file-backed, in SQL databases and in custom scalable storage systems
> * an API for manipulation of OWL
> * a rule-based inference engine
> * an implementation of GRDDL for extraction of RDF from XML formats
> * a standards compliant IRI library.
>
> The project includes facilities based around this core to encourage the
> creation of components and contributions both as part of Jena and also
> as companion open source activities.
>
> This proposal includes the main components of Jena: the main Jena
> download, ARQ, GRDDL, SDB, TDB, the IRI library and Joseki. Other
> components may be contributed later - we're just starting with the main
> part of Jena for now.
>
> == Background ==
> The W3C recommendations provide detailed specifications and it is
> important to follow these standards so that independently built
> applications can exchange data over the web. Jena provides high quality
> Java implementations of RDF input/output and storage so that application
> writers can concentrate on the application, not the low-level details.
>
> W3C Semantic Web: http://www.w3.org/standards/semanticweb/
>
> Jena has been on !SourceForge since 2001.
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/jena/
>
> == Rationale ==
> The open source project was originally created as part of a research
> activity in HPLabs. In building new systems, the researchers identified
> the value of a common platform that dealt with the low level details of
> the standards. This lead to engagement with the standards process and
> the creation of a framework that provided a library to deal with the
> details of semantic web standards. This work was released as Jena. The
> developers have contributed implementation experience back to the
> working groups.
>
> None of the contributors now work for HP. Providing a uniform
> contributor and licensing framework assists commercial use of Jena.
>
> == Current Status ==
> Jena is already an established project with a large user base in
> industry and academia. It currently uses a BSD-style three-clause
> license with a number of contributing copyright holders. Support is
> primarily provided via the jena-dev@groups.yahoo.com mailing list. The
> majority of the team was employed in HPLabs, and HP holds the majority
> of the copyright over the code - there are contributions from non-HP
> companies. HP decided to close the research group as of October 2009 and
> the people from HPLabs connected with the project have moved on to
> several different semantic web companies.
>
> This change does not immediately affect Jena because the people who were
> in HP still remain active contributors to Jena. The project continues to
> be supported and actively enhanced. There is now the opportunity to
> become an open source project without a single large organisation involved.
>
> === Meritocracy ===
> The Jena team has always been self-determining; there has not been a
> project manager in charge of the effort. Instead, it has grown through
> individuals contributing to the codebase as part of their research
> activities. The team has organised itself to create the framework for
> builds, releases and public support, and people who had worked on Jena
> in HP, and moved to other companies and institutions, have continued to
> contribute.
>
> === Core developers ===
> Jena originated within a research activity in HPLabs, starting around
> 2000. Contributors to jena have been active in W3C working groups
> including chairing the "RDF Core" working group and acting as document
> editors on several other working groups. W3C processes are public; jena
> contributors have been involved in public debate and decision making.
> People have since moved on from HP to several semantic web forced
> companies and to university positions.
>
> === Alignment ===
> Jena is already in use in many commercial systems as well as widely used
> in academic research and teaching. We want to continue making this easy
> and at the same time encourage contribution in a well-known environment.
>
> Jena is already pretty much run in a collaborative open development
> style with communication on mailing lists.
>
> == Known Risks ==
> === Orphaned products & Reliance on Salaried Developers ===
> Jena is in use by companies we work for so the companies have an
> interest in its continued vitality.
>
> The Jena team members are not employed to work on Jena specifically;
> while there is some development as part of their day-jobs, the team
> members do also contribute personal time as well.
>
> === Inexperience with Open Source ===
> While Jena has been open-source since 2001, the majority of individuals
> involved do not have wide experience of contributing to other open
> source projects, so the team members need to develop more skills in
> participating in open-source communities.
>
> === Relationships with Other Apache Products ===
> Jena uses Xerces, Lucene, Apache Commons HttpClient and Apache Commons
> FileUpload.
>
> Jena is used by Clerezza (in incubation).
>
> === A Excessive Fascination with the Apache Brand ===
> Jena has an established community of users and is used in both academic
> and commercial settings. The Apache environment offers Jena the
> opportunity to expand the ways that more people can be involved and
> contribute, and hence to ensure the project is not dependent on the
> current members. We hope that association with Apache will also
> encourage other open source projects that use Jena to help develop a
> healthy and vibrant semantic web open source ecosystem.
>
> Apache offers us a clear licensing framework and support infrastructure
> which would reassure the many users of Jena who exploit it in commercial
> environments as well as those in other open source projects.
>
> == Documentation ==
> Overview documentation, tutorials, topic-based how-tos and detailed
> !JavaDoc can be found at http://openjena.org/
>
> == Initial Source ==
> The majority of the current codebase resides in the Jena project CVS/SVN
> on !SourceForge. Joseki is also on !SourceForge; we later decided to put
> all projects under one SF project so this is a historical anomaly. The
> modules in the initial source are:
>
> * [[http://jena.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/jena/|Jena CVS area on
> SourceForge]]
> * jena2 (the core system, include RDF, rules and OWL subsystems)
> * iri (the IRI library)
> * Eyeball and !EyeballAcceptance (a checker for RDF)
> * [[http://jena.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/jena/|Jena SVN area on
> SourceForge]]
> * ARQ (SPARQL query and update engine)
> * Fuseki (SPARQL server)
> * grddl (GRDDL implementation for Jena)
> * SDB (SQL database layer for Jena)
> * TDB (customer storage layer for Jena)
> * Ymris (experimental rules engine)
> * Experimental/Jena3 (experiment reorganisation of jena)
> * [[http://joseki.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/joseki/Joseki3/|Joseki CVS
> area on SourceForge]]
> * Joseki3 module.
>
> == Source and Intellectual Property Submission Plan ==
> We are in discussions with HP, the largest copyright holder, about
> licensing to Apache and currently HP has indicated that it is willing to
> do so in principle.
>
> The initial committers overtake to resolve all IP and copyright issues
> that concern the dependencies of the initial source and of any
> contributions in accordance with Apache requirements for graduating from
> incubator status.
>
> All contributions to the Jena codebase are under BSD-style license. The
> majority of copyright is held by HP. Some copyright is held by others,
> as noted in the codebase. This includes contributions from the initial
> committers below and any other contributions.
>
>
>
> == External Dependencies ==
> Details of license of components used by Jena are available at:
> http://openjena.org/Licenses/index.html
>
> The Jena GRDDL Reader has some additional dependencies:
> http://jena.sourceforge.net/grddl/license.html
>
> We are heavily dependent on Xerces for both parsing and also for XML
> datatype support.
>
> == Cryptography ==
> No specific cryptography.
>
> == Required Resources ==
> Mailing lists
>
> * jena-private (with moderated subscriptions)
> * jena-dev
> * jena-commits
> * jena-user
>
> Subversion Directory
>
> * jena
>
> Issue Tracking
>
> * JIRA
>
> Other Resources
>
> * Hudson
>
> == Initial Committers ==
> The intial committers are the currently active developers for Jena.
>
> * Chris Dollin
> * Paolo Castagna
> * Damian Steer
> * Jeremy Carroll
> * Ian Dickinson
> * Dave Reynolds
> * Andy Seaborne
>
> == Affiliations ==
> * Epimorphics Ltd: Dave Reynolds, Ian Dickinson, Chris Dollin, Andy
> Seaborne
> * Talis Systems Ltd: Paolo Castagna
> * University of Bristol: Damian Steer
> * TopQuadrant Inc: Jeremy Carroll
>
> == Sponsors ==
> === Champion ===
> Ross Gardler (rgardler .at. apache.org
>
> === Nominated Mentors ===
> * Bertrand Delacretaz (bdelacretaz .at. apache.org)
> * Leo Simons (leosimons .at. apache.org)
> * Dave Johnson (snoopdave .at. gmail.com)
> * Benson Margulies (bimargulies .at. gmail.com)
>
> === Sponsoring Entity ===
> Incubator PMC
>
>


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