On 8/3/10 2:21 PM, Jason van Zyl wrote:
Hi,
We have two major pieces that we, Sonatype, would like to merge into Maven 3.x
trunk.
The first are the Guice changes that we've been talking about for a while, and
the second is the introduction of Aether which is our second attempt at a
stand-alone repository API. The PMC is aware of Aether as Brian reported it in
our quarterly report to the Apache Board, but other developers who are not on
the PMC and the community in general might not know much about it.
I just posted an entry giving a very high level description:
http://www.sonatype.com/people/2010/08/introducing-aether/
There is a resources section at the bottom of the post for those interested in
the sources, issue tracking, wiki and mailing lists. As part of some of the
research we are about to embark on with Daniel Le Berre, Aether will likely
look more like p2 as time passes and as a final resting place the Eclipse
Foundation is more likely then Apache. I know people will ask so I'm answering
that now. Sonatype is just about to fully move Tycho over the Eclipse
Foundation and we want to see how that goes. If that works, then M2Eclipse is
next, and then Aether will follow.
At any rate we would like to merge these changes in and make plans to release
3.0-beta-2.
So please let us know if you have any objections.
There's too much in this thread that I this is a tad distracting from
the important points, so I'm replying to the top post.
I _really_ appreciate all the work done in getting M3 into a usable
form, and in general I like the way Aether looks (I haven't had time to
look into the guice shim yet). I realize there are newer thoughts on
repository design since Maven took its swing at things, and we need to
find a way to transition forward..."transition" because we have a large
legacy of artifacts already under the Maven repository format. HOWEVER,
there are a couple things here I'm pretty deeply concerned about.
1. The repository format is a Maven concept. I'd argue that it's one of
Maven's two great contributions to the world of software (the other
being a decent build tool). As such, the Maven community should have
some role in guiding the future of that format.
If Maven relinquishes all ownership of the API and implementation for
the piece that resolves artifacts, then we have no say in the future
design of the repository Maven uses as its lifeblood. Many people who
aren't Sonatype people have spent time working on that de facto
specification, and they've shown the merit to earn a voice in guiding
this API...at least, if it's going to be billed as a Maven-compatible
Repository API.
2. Jason, you mentioned sponsoring a Sat4j developer to work with
Sonatype in the future to improve Aether. What effect is this likely to
have on the aether-api module? My concern here is that we're talking
about releasing Maven 3.0-beta-2 with a completely rewritten API /
implementation for one of the most pivotal parts of Maven. It's not that
I don't trust Benjamin and Kristian to produce high-quality code.
What I'm actually worried about having Aether API drift AFTER we adopt
it in Maven. This will hamper anyone wishing to integrate with the Maven
3 core, whether that's Maven plugin development or Maven embedding.
What I'd actually prefer to see is the Aether API published in some
neutral location where we have an iron-clad guarantee that we won't be
locked out of its design. Then, put the implementations wherever you
think is best. IMO the key moving forward is to establish a standard API
for resolving artifacts. IMO, this is our great failure with Plexus,
that we depended directly on a container implementation, not on a
container API.
Having a stable set of specifications define their interaction with
Maven would make plugin development and embedding MUCH better. In fact,
I think establishing this practice might be the single best contribution
we can make to Maven in the near term.
Thanks,
-john
Thanks,
Jason
----------------------------------------------------------
Jason van Zyl
Founder, Apache Maven
http://twitter.com/jvanzyl
---------------------------------------------------------
First, the taking in of scattered particulars under one Idea,
so that everyone understands what is being talked about ... Second,
the separation of the Idea into parts, by dividing it at the joints,
as nature directs, not breaking any limb in half as a bad carver might.
-- Plato, Phaedrus (Notes on the Synthesis of Form by C. Alexander)
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