EverBank Financial Corp has placed a very strong strategical direction based on Merlin. It is imperitive for us that Merlin remain in a state of high quality and support, which it enjoys today from the community supporting it. It seems to me that as a top level project, Apache is better positioned to continue Merlin's success.
>I think this is the natural direction to go. As Merlin has individuated, >it has become something like a proof that there cannot be a standard >Avalon container. As such, it's a great idea to get the containers away >from the framework. > >I'm committed to following Merlin's development, as sub- or top-level >project. > > Gary Shea > >> >> 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. >> >> == 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. >> >> 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. >> >> 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. >> >> We want to send a clear message that Merlin is not a 'project' shuffled >> into a >> backyard called Avalon, but that it is a serious _product_, on par with >> other >> ambitious products in ASF like Geronimo, Cocoon and Eve. Avalon have >> lately >> had as many or more web site visitors[1] than high profile projects like >> Struts, Tomcat and Ant. This is a sign that there is a strong interest out >> there, and that we need to channel this interest into a stronger >> community. >> >> 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. >> >> 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. >> >> >> == Mitigation of Consequence to Users == >> This will not be a pain-free exercise. >> If we are granted "The Apache Merlin project" (http://merlin.apache.org), >> we >> will most probably be required to change the codebase package names. >> >> However, I hope that we will be able to bridge the inconvenience for the >> "Facilities Users", who would have wrong classnames for the facility >> declaration, so that Merlin will explicitly recognize both namespaces for >> some time, and generate a deprecation warning. >> >> Native normal components would work as without change. >> >> Blocks (aggregated components, i.e. block.xml files) should also work >> without >> change. >> >> Applications that embedds Merlin is the only major area, where we can't >> provide a smooth transition. I.e. import statements will have to change, >> but >> with modern IDEs (alt. some script files), the work would be fairly >> straight >> forward and quick. >> >> >> == YOUR action is required == >> >> I NEED you to respond to this mail. If you like the sound of this idea, >> just >> send a mail to the list saying exactly that. If you think this is not a >> good >> idea, please express that too, to this list. This is not a vote, just a >> call >> for support. >> >> The more support I can rally from the users, the more likely the proposal >> will >> be viewed positively by the ASF Board, whio ultimately decides on this. >> >> >> Cheers >> Niclas >> >> [1] >> Daily stats (90 days): >> http://reverycodes.com/apache/stats/stats.pl? type=projects&day=&month=&year=&interval=day&periods=90&projec ts=ant&projects=avalon&projects=struts&projects=tomcat >> >> Monthly stats (6 months): >> http://reverycodes.com/apache/stats/stats.pl? type=projects&day=&month=&year=&interval=month&periods=6&proje cts=ant&projects=avalon&projects=struts&projects=tomcat >> >> >> -- >> +------//-------------------+ >> / http://www.bali.ac / >> / http://niclas.hedhman.org / >> +------//-------------------+ >> >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------- ---------- >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> For additional commands, e-mail: users- [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> > >------------------------------------------------------------- -------- >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]
