I'm happy with the reponses given so +1 to Thrift from me. Niall
On Jan 24, 2008 2:07 AM, Mark Slee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi all, > > We've just posted the Apache Incubator proposal for Thrift onto the > Wiki: > http://wiki.apache.org/incubator/ThriftProposal > > For those who prefer reading Wiki markup directly, it is copied below. > > Cheers, > Mark > > = Thrift Proposal = > > == Abstract == > Thrift is a framework for efficient cross-language data serialization, > RPC, and server programming. > > == Proposal == > Thrift is a software library and set of code-generation tools designed > to expedite development and implementation of efficient and scalable > backend services. Its primary goal is to enable efficient and reliable > communication across programming languages by abstracting the portions > of each language that tend to require the most customization into a > common library that is implemented in each language. Specifically, > Thrift allows developers to define datatypes and service interfaces in a > single language-neutral file and generate all the necessary code to > build RPC clients and servers. > > == Background == > Thrift was initially developed at Facebook starting in 2006 to power RPC > and data logging for a number of backend services for the site, such as > Search and News Feed. The package was designed for open source, and was > released in early 2007. Since then, a number of other developers have > submitted patches to the project and become de facto owners of major > parts. Support for many languages has been developed entirely outside of > Facebook. > > == Rationale == > The need for high performance, reliable communication across different > programming languages seems to be growing more and more common in modern > programming, particularly when writing software for the web. > Historically, this problem has forced developers to standardize on one > language/framework or adopt heavier-weight systems, such as CORBA or > SOAP. These systems tend to make tradeoffs that aren't always ideal for > the use case. SOAP, for example, may be ideal for calling across > disparate web services, but is unnecessarily verbose for service calls > on an intranet. > > Most of these systems also require developers to learn the particulars > of their type systems, especially when dealing with containers or > objects. One of the primary goals of Thrift is to allow developers to > program across languages while still using the standard idioms and style > in each language. Custom type systems also makes code reuse more > difficult. Thrift allows developers to avoid creating unnecessary > wrapper interfaces by operating directly on native types. > > == Initial Goals == > Though the bulk of Thrift's initial development is complete, there are > still some large areas for future development. Some areas we hope to > focus on in Apache: > > * Better log storage/replay > * Meta-data serialization > * Higher-performance serialization, standard C extension model across > Python/PHP/etc. > * Extending the abstraction to a multi-client that can fan-out across > multiple servers > > == Current Status == > === Meritocracy === > Though initial development was done at Facebook, Thrift was intended to > be released as an open source project from its inception. Since release, > many developers have adopted the framework and submitted significant > patches. Large portions of the codebase are now managed by those most > familiar with and responsible for them. Any potentially controversial > change is discussed on the public mailing list > (http://lists.pub.facebook.com/mailman/listinfo/thrift/) and good > suggestions are frequently implemented. > > === Community === > Thrift is currently in use across a number of organizations, and we > expect this to grow as Thrift becomes a relevant and useful tool for > building more open source projects. > > === Core Developers === > Thrift currently has developers across many organizations (e.g. > Facebook, Powerset, ReCaptcha, AmieStreet), many of whom are > contributors to other open source projects. > > === Alignment === > Thrift is designed to integrate cleanly with other projects. We think > this is a particularly good fit for Apache due to integration potential > with other projects, specifically Hadoop/Hbase. > > == Known Risks == > === Orphaned Products === > Thrift is already deployed into production at multiple large websites > that are frequently iterating on the featureset. There's no realistic > chance of it becoming orphaned. > > === Inexperience with Open Source === > The project has already been open source for nearly a year and has > attracted many developers already. Part of the reason to join Apache is > to make the project work even better as open source by removing some > obstacles, such as Facebook hosting the SVN, and putting the resources > all in a truly open space, being able to have more committers, etc. Most > of the core developers have a history of working with open source tools. > > === Homogenous Developers === > The current set of developers work across a variety of organizations. > Naturally, most are websites with significant backend structure (and > hence a need for Thrift), but the problems they are solving are diverse, > and many don't work in the same programming languages. > > === Reliance on Salaried Developers === > Thrift is a "means to an end." None of the developers (to my knowledge) > working on Thrift are salaried specifically to work on Thrift. Rather, > Thrift is useful in building other projects, which may or may not be for > salary. Realistically, it is likely that a decent portion of work on > Thrift will be done by someone at a company, but not specifically tasked > with working on Thrift. So long as the tool is relevant and useful, this > should result in developers contributing time both at work and > personally. > > === Relationships with Other Apache Projects === > Thrift has already been introduced into the Hbase project. (See > https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HADOOP-2389) Since Thrift is a > development tool, it is designed and well-suited for use in other > projects. As a start, we definitely plan to continue integration work > with Hbase. > > === An Excessive Fascination with the Apache Brand === > Thrift has already attracted a stable base of developers. The reasons > for joining Apache are not to advertise the project, but rather to > demonstrate the commitment to open source by divorcing the trunk from > any one corporation and pursuing further integration with other Apache > projects. > > == Documentation == > Existing page: > http://developers.facebook.com/thrift/ > > Mailing list (with archives): > http://lists.pub.facebook.com/mailman/listinfo/thrift/ > > == Initial Source == > Currently hosted by Facebook: > http://svn.facebook.com/svnroot/thrift/ > > == Source and Intellectual Property Submission Plan == > All code currently hosted in the Facebook public SVN folder will be > contributed. > > == External Dependencies == > All dependencies (libevent, Boost) have Apache compatible licenses. > > == Cryptography == > None > > == Required Resources == > === Mailing lists === > * thrift-dev > * thrift-private > > === Subversion Directory === > https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator/thrift > > We'd also be interested in using git to store the repo. Does apache have > infrastucture set up to support that? It'd make it easier for > non-committer developers to work on patches, checkpoint commits, etc. > > === Issue Tracking === > Bugzilla Thrift > > == Initial Committers == > * Mark Slee (mcslee at facebook dot com) > * Aditya Agarwal (aditya at facebook dot com) > * Marc Kwiatkowski (marc at facebook dot com) > * David Reiss (david at facebook dot com) > * James Wang (jwang at facebook dot com) > * Chris Piro (cpiro at facebook dot com) > * Ben Maurer (bmaurer at andrew dot cmu dot edu) > * Kevin Clark (kevin at powerset dot com) > * Jake Luciani (jakers at gmail dot com) > > == Affiliations == > * People with Facebook email addresses - Facebook > * Ben Maurer - ReCaptcha > * Kevin Clark - Powerset > > == Sponsors == > === Champion === > * Doug Cutting > > === Mentors === > * Paul Querna > * Upayavira > > === Sponsoring Entity === > * Incubator > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
