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Subject: Re: [VOTE] Usergrid BaaS Stack for Apache Incubator (revised
 proposal)
From: Raminder Singh <rsandhu1@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: 
 <CAF1aazC-AQjOT69OyEuq2grQcA_DSDWVQeiwq2Xkh-M6srdTLA@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2013 11:03:58 -0400
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 <CAF1aazC-AQjOT69OyEuq2grQcA_DSDWVQeiwq2Xkh-M6srdTLA@mail.gmail.com>
To: general@incubator.apache.org

+1 (non-binding).=20

Thanks
Raminder

On Sep 30, 2013, at 3:27 PM, Dave <snoopdave@gmail.com> wrote:

> I would like to call for a new vote on Usergrid, a multi-tenant
> Backend-as-a-Service stack for web & mobile applications based on =
RESTful
> APIs, as an Apache Incubator podling.
>=20
> The original proposal has been revised to name Dave Johnson as the =
Champion
> and to bring Jim Jagielski back in as a Mentor and to add John Lewis
> Mcgibbney as a Mentor. I also add some text to the Initial Committers
> section and a new Interested Contributors section to list those who =
have
> expressed interest in contributing.
>=20
> Here is a link to the revised proposal:
>   https://wiki.apache.org/incubator/UsergridProposal
>=20
> It is also pasted below:
>=20
>=20
> =3D Usergrid Proposal =3D
>=20
> =3D=3D Abstract =3D=3D
>=20
> Usergrid is a multi-tenant Backend-as-a-Service stack for web & mobile
> applications, based on RESTful APIs.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Proposal =3D=3D
>=20
> Usergrid is an open-source Backend-as-a-Service (=93BaaS=94 or =
=93mBaaS=94)
> composed of an integrated distributed NoSQL database, application =
layer and
> client tier with SDKs for developers looking to rapidly build web =
and/or
> mobile applications. It provides elementary services (user =
registration &
> management, data storage, file storage, queues) and retrieval features
> (full text search, geolocation search, joins) to power common app =
features.
>=20
> It is a multi-tenant system designed for deployment to public cloud
> environments (such as Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, etc.) or to run =
on
> traditional server infrastructures so that anyone can run their own =
private
> BaaS deployment.
>=20
> For architects and back-end teams, it aims to provide a distributed, =
easily
> extendable, operationally predictable and highly scalable solution.
> For front-end developers, it aims to simplify the development process =
by
> enabling them to rapidly build and operate mobile and web applications
> without requiring backend expertise.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Background =3D=3D
>=20
> Developing web or mobile applications obviously necessitates writing =
and
> maintaining more than just front-end code. Even simple applications =
can
> implicitly rely on server code being run to store users, perform =
database
> queries, serve images and video files, etc. Developing and maintaining =
such
> backend services requires skills not always available or expected of =
app
> development teams. Beyond that, the proliferation of apps inside of
> companies leads to the creation of many different, ad-hoc, unequally
> maintained backend solutions created by employees and contractors =
alike and
> hosted on a wide variety of environments. This is causing poor =
resource
> usage, operational issues, as well as security, privacy & compliance
> concerns.
>=20
> In response to this problem, companies have long tried to standardize =
their
> server-side stack or unify them behind an ESB or API strategy.
> Backends-as-a-Service follow a similar approach but their unique
> characteristic is strongly tying  1) a persistence tier (typically a
> database), 2) a server-side application tier delivering a set of =
common
> services and 3) a set of client-side application interface mechanisms. =
For
> example, a BaaS could package 1) MongoDB with 2) a node.js application =
that
> offers access through 3) WebSockets. In the case of Usergrid, the =
trifecta
> is 1) Cassandra, 2) Java + Jersey and 3) a RESTful API.
>=20
> The Backend-as-a-Service approach has steadily gained popularity in =
the
> last few years with cloud providers such Parse.com, Stackmob.com and
> Kinvey.com, each operating tens of thousands of apps for tens of =
thousands
> of developers. The trend has already reached large organizations as =
well,
> with global companies such as Korea Telecom internally building a
> privately-run BaaS platform. But so far, there have been limited =
options
> for developers that want a non-proprietary, open option for hosting =
and
> providing these services themselves, or for enterprise and government =
users
> who want to provide these capabilities from their own data centers,
> especially on a very large scale.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Rationale =3D=3D
>=20
> The issue this proposal deals with is implicit in the name.
> Backend-as-a-Service platforms are usually offered solely as =
proprietary
> cloud services. They are typically closed sourced, hosted on public =
clouds,
> and require subscription payment. Usergrid opens the playing field, by
> making a fully-featured BaaS platform freely available to all. This
> includes developers that previously could not afford them, such as =
mobile
> enthusiasts, small boutiques, and cost-sensitive startups. This also
> includes large companies that benefit from a reference implementation =
they
> can deploy in trust, or extend to their needs without losing time =
writing
> less-vetted, less-performant boilerplate functionality.
>=20
> Usergrid has been open source since 2011 and has grown as an =
independent
> project, garnering 11 primary committers, 35 total contributors, 260+
> participants on its mailing list, with 3,700+ commits, 200+ external
> contributions, 350+ stars and 100+ forks on Github, not to mention =
several
> large scale production deployments at major global companies in the =
media,
> retail, telecommunication and government spaces.
>=20
> The Apache Software Foundation's "Way", by putting community before =
the
> code, will help Usergrid establish a vibrant, more diverse community =
to
> provide these features freely to downstream users. The incubation =
process
> will help build this community and clear out the cobwebs, while =
vetting the
> IP to provide a pristine ASLv2 licensed product to users. Under such
> conditions, our hope is that Usergrid will have a brighter future, and
> provide better assurances as an independent organic open source =
project,
> instead of continuing forward as a project sponsored by a handful of
> companies.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Initial Goals =3D=3D
>=20
> We have no serious codebase concerns at the present moment. Besides =
vetting
> the IP by making sure the dependencies are Apache License 2.0 =
compatible,
> our main initial concern is to grow community and keep adding features =
to
> make Usergrid as robust as possible. However some logistics based =
goals
> include:
>=20
>  * Move the existing code base to Apache
>  * Integrate with the Apache development process
>  * Ensure all dependencies are compliant with Apache License 2.0
>  * Set up open-source docs and website
>  * Incremental development and releases per Apache Guidelines
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Current Status =3D=3D
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Meritocracy =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> The project team's goals have always been to grow the community by
> encouraging contributors to participate. The project has grown =
steadily and
> smoothly from the efforts of the original creator and project founder =
(Ed
> Anuff) to a small circle of committers (at Apigee), to a distributed,
> multi-vendor community (Apigee and Korea Telecom) that also includes
> outside committers (Globo and others), as well as non-salaried =
committers.
> Together we discuss the project=92s goals and roadmap openly, making =
drastic
> yet positive changes to the project's direction based on everyone's =
input.
> Our goal is to drive further community diversification in a way that =
only a
> foundation-sponsored project can achieve, rather than what a =
vendor-led
> project can accomplish.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Community =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> We have a public Google Group for support here:
> https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=3Den#!forum/usergrid with over 250 =
active
> participants, 367 threads and new messages every day. Usergrid also =
has an
> active community on Github issues (with over 200 discussions):
> https://github.com/apigee/usergrid-stack/issues?state=3Dall. Some of =
these
> users have contributed their open applications back to the community =
or
> have built their own new SDKs for Usergrid found here on Github:
> https://github.com/search?q=3Dusergrid&source=3Dcc.
>=20
> Expanding and nurturing the Usergrid community is our primary concern =
and
> one of the main reasons for the decision to apply for incubation.  =
Usergrid
> has been developed openly on Github for many years and has enjoyed =
active
> developer participation by a committers from all over the globe.  =
However,
> due to the disparate nature and wide variety of the Github repos that
> comprise the Usergrid project (the Usergrid-stack, 8 separate SDKs, =
the
> Admin Portal, and various samples), it has been challenging to grow a
> unified community.  Bringing the entire project under the umbrella of
> Apache will promote a unification of the Usergrid community and enable =
all
> developers to collaborate on the project.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Core Developers =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> The core developers include Apache Committers, PMC Members, and =
Members of
> the ASF. The developers, some of whom have have been involved with the
> Apache Incubator and Apache Lucene as PMC members, are active mentors =
and
> have participated in and contributed to several projects: i.e. Apache,
> Lucene, Cassandra, Hibernate, Directory, Wicket, Commons, Roller, =
MINA,
> Karaf, Felix, Cloud Stack, HCatalog, and Commons projects. Many of =
them are
> also active in Open-source beyond code, and have positions on the
> committees or organization such as OSCON.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Alignment =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> The initial code base leverages several Apache Software Foundation
> products. Usergrid leverages Apache Cassandra for its scalable data =
store,
> and uses Maven for its build system. Almost half of Usergrid's =
dependencies
> are Apache dependencies:
>=20
>  * Apache Cassandra
>  * Apache Tomcat
>  * Apache Commons
>  * Apache ZooKeeper
>  * Apache Shiro
>  * Apache Amber
>  * Apache Thrift
>  * Apache ActiveMQ
>  * Apache HttpClient
>  * Apache Lucene
>  * Apache JClouds
>=20
> Besides these direct alignments, Usergrid also complements Apache =
Cordova
> and could provide several advantages to the mobile application =
developer
> community they serve.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Known Risks =3D=3D
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Orphaned products =3D=3D=3D
> There are now at least two vendors running Usergrid in product. Apigee =
is
> an established startup with a large, diversified customer roster and =
Korea
> Telecom is a major, national telecommunications company. The =
continuity of
> Usergrid, as an open-source, vendor-independent product are in the =
interest
> of all parties. Beyond the vendors, Globo.com and many others large
> companies have been relying on Usergrid for critical applications and =
as
> such they are committed to contributing to the effort.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Inexperience with Open Source =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> The Usergrid project has been open source and under the ALv2 for 2 =
years on
> Github and many of its contributors came with previous open-source
> experience, (as referenced above), including active members of these
> communities:
>=20
>  * Apache
>  * Cassandra (& Hector)
>  * Lucene
>  * Hibernate
>  * CouchDB
>  * PhoneGap
>  * jQuery
>=20
> Development in this open forum has resulted in a growing community of
> contributors, and the Usergrid project is now ready and eager to =
embrace
> and learn from Apache's wealth of experience. Usergrid would like to
> embrace an even greater culture of open participation as witnessed on =
so
> many Apache projects.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Homogenous Developers =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> The core development team for Usergrid is a geographically and
> technologically diverse group. Apigee=92s team is itself distributed, =
with
> contributors based in each timezone in the continental US. Additional
> regular contributors have joined us from India, Asia, Oceania, South
> America, the Middle East and Europe. While roughly half of our core
> developers come from a Java background, the other half is comprised of =
iOS,
> Ruby, and JavaScript developers.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Reliance on Salaried Developers =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> Most of the principal developers are paid by their employers to =
contribute,
> but not all. Throughout the life of the project, we=92ve seen =
passionate,
> personal commitment from all parties, as evidenced by our commit
> distribution on weekends (
> https://github.com/apigee/usergrid-stack/graphs/punch-card). We also
> believe, given the growing interest in mobile API services and the =
range of
> individuals and corporations that are eager to participate, that
> non-salaried contributions will grow. We know the "The Apache Way" =
will
> help us further accelerate this process.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Relationships with Other Apache Products =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> There's much potential for collaboration with Apache Cordova and, of
> course, the Cassandra community because of the underlying foundations =
of
> Usergrid's scalability. In the future there may be more interactions =
with
> any of the communities that Usergrid has direct dependencies to.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D A Excessive Fascination with the Apache Brand =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> Although we are aware of the strength of the Apache brand, we are =
primarily
> interested in the transforming power of the Apache Way to help guide
> Usergrid towards a more diversified and meritocratic community. To =
that
> end, the brand's primary benefit for us is to help to attract more
> participants and diversify the community. Having several committers, =
PMC
> participants, and members of Apache as developers on Usergrid, there's
> little infatuation with the brand, and the Usergrid community is =
actively
> conscious of this not being a driver for joining the Apache community.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Documentation =3D=3D
>=20
> Information on Usergrid can be found at:
> https://developers.apigee.com/app-services.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Initial Source =3D=3D
>=20
> All initial sources can be found here: https://github.com/usergrid
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Source and Intellectual Property Submission Plan =3D=3D
>=20
> The IP transfer for Usergrid is trivial due to it's single source and
> existing ASLv2 licensing.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D External Dependencies =3D=3D
>=20
> Most dependencies are Apache compatible licenses (Category A). A small =
set
> of Category B licenses, like the CDDL exists. For more details please =
see
> Dependency Licenses.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Cryptography =3D=3D
>=20
> Not relevant to Usergrid since all code dealing with cryptography =
already
> comes from the JDK or from dependencies on  Apache Software.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Required Resources =3D=3D
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Mailing lists =3D=3D=3D
>=20
>  * private@usergrid.incubator.apache.org (moderated)
>  * dev@usergrid.incubator.apache.org
>  * commits@usergrid.incubator.apache.org
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Subversion Directory =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> We prefer to use Git as our source control system: git://
> git.apache.org/usergrid/. If possible, we would like to keep =
leveraging the
> extremely useful github facilities for workflow using a process much =
like
> that employed by the Apache Cordova project (documented here
> http://wiki.apache.org/cordova/ContributorWorkflow).
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Issue Tracking =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> JIRA Usergrid (USERGRID)
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Other Resources =3D=3D=3D
> None.
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Initial Committers =3D=3D
>=20
> Below are the initial committers for the project. This list will be =
used by
> the mentors to setup initial accounts. The podling will learn how to
> recruit additional committers during the incubation period and all
> interested contributors are encouraged to show up and start =
contributing
> once the podling has infrastructure in place.
>=20
>  * Alberto Leal <albertonb@gmail.com> (Globo.com)
>  * Dave Johnson <snoopdave@apache.org> (Apigee)
>  * Ed Anuff <ed@anuff.com> (Apigee)
>  * Nate McCall <zznate.m@gmail.com> (The Last Pickle)
>  * Rod Simpson <rod@rodsimpson.com> (Apigee)
>  * Scott Ganyo <scottganyo@apache.org> (Apigee)
>  * Shaozhuang Liu <stliu@hibernate.org> (Easemob, Inc.)
>  * Sungju Jin <sungju@softwaregeeks.org> (Korea Telecom)
>  * Tim Anglade <timanglade@gmail.com> (Apigee)
>  * Todd Nine <todd.nine@gmail.com> (Apigee)
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Interested Contributors =3D=3D
>=20
> Below are the people who have expressed interested in contributing to
> Usergrid via the Apache Software Foundation:
>  * C.S.Nirmal J. Fernando <nirmal070125@gmail.com> (WSO2)
>  * Dulitha Rasanga Wijewantha <dulithaz@gmail.com> (WSO2)
>  * Imesh Gunaratne <imesh@apache.org> (WSO2)
>  * Niranjan Karunanandham <niranjan.karu@gmail.com> (WSO2)
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Affiliations =3D=3D
>=20
>  * Apigee
>  * Easemob, Inc.
>  * Korea Telecom
>  * Globo.com
>  * The Last Pickle
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D Sponsors =3D=3D
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Champion =3D=3D=3D
>=20
>  * Dave Johnson <snoopdave@apache.org>
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Nominated Mentors =3D=3D=3D
>=20
>  * Jake Farrell <jfarrell@apache.org>
>  * Jim Jagielski <jim@apache.org>
>  * Dave Johnson <snoopdave@apache.org>
>  * Lewis John Mcgibbney <lewis.mcgibbney@gmail.com>
>  * Luciano Resende <lresende@apache.org>
>=20
>=20
> =3D=3D=3D Sponsoring Entity =3D=3D=3D
>=20
> Incubator PMC


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