Apache Middleware Safe from JCP-ASF Feud, Open Source CTO Says 
The decision by the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) to leave the Java Community Process (JCP) executive committee won’t hurt users of Apache-based open source middleware, according to Rob Davies, CTO of FuseSource. The company provides open source integration solutions built on Apache ServiceMix, ActiveMQ, CXF and Camel. Davies shares four reasons with IDN.
The decision by the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) to leave the Java Community Process (JCP) executive committee won’t hurt users of Apache-based open source middleware, according to Rob Davies, CTO of FuseSource, a provider of open source integration solutions built on Apache ServiceMix, ActiveMQ, CXF and Camel. Davies shares key reasons with IDN.
“I don’t expect this decision by the ASF to have much impact on Apache middleware projects, although I am disappointed the ASF has come to the decision,” Davies told IDN. “ASF has always tried to be as neutral as possible, based on collaboration with many companies.”
For now, Davies said he is confident Apache-based middleware will remain safe from any ASF-Oracle conflict, and detailed four (4) reasons why:
Middleware Innovation Proceeds Outside the JCP: “To be frank, all the Apache innovations for middleware have happened outside the JCP, and we’ve worked at standardization outside that process using specs for Spring, JBoss and J2EE,” Davies told IDN.
Argument Not About Middleware: “The main argument is around the Java platform itself, not all or any Apache projects,” Davies said. In fact, Davies said, the dispute between ASF and Oracle rose up over Oracle’s refusal to provide the ASF’s Harmony project a test compatibility kit (TCK) license. Without a TCK, ASF contends its Harmony open source implementation of Java cannot be tested or certified against the Java standard, which would hurt adoption.
Apache Members are Not 100% Out of JCP: “Even though ASF has withdrawn from JCP executive committee, that doesn’t mean there aren’t many folks involved in [Apache middleware] projects participating in various JCP groups,” Davies said. He, in fact, is one of those Apache individuals still engaged with JCP activities. “While ASF has moved back from the JCP executive committee, at the Apache [middleware] projects we focus on, work is carrying on as normal.”
Apache Middleware is Too Big To Fail: “Apache middleware has really taken off,” Davies said. “Today there is such a big ecosystem around this middleware and [integration] part of Java, there are just too many users and providers involved, and that community is solidly behind current projects and future progress of the [open source middleware] space,” Davies said. “So, frankly, I don’t see there being a whole lot of movement for the next 10 years or even more.”
“I don’t expect this decision by the ASF to have much impact on Apache middleware projects.”
Rob Davies
CTO
FuseSource
The Only ‘Fly’ in the Apache Middleware Ointment
For all Davies’ confidence that the ASF-Oracle dust-up won’t negatively impact Apache middleware, he admitted to one fly in the ointment – a concern on the horizon that involved U.S. courts, not simply the court of public opinion.
Davies concern arises because it’s not just the ASF that’s worried about Oracle’s custodianship of Java.
“A request from a Google representative to participate [in the JCP executive committee] has also been declined, so I think people are very annoyed and angry with that,” Davies said. “So, the next big thing will be the outcome over the [patent infringement] lawsuit between Oracle and Google. That decision will sway things one way or another much more than the current [ASF-JCP] situation,” Davies added.
“It is hard to determine all the impact details at the moment,” he said, adding optimistically, “Right now, we’re just waiting and seeing and hoping that Oracle will do the right thing. There aren’t any other alternatives.”
Last fall, Oracle filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Google, accusing the search giant of infringing on patented Java technologies in its Linux-based Android mobile operating system. That complaint was filed in the US District Court for Northern California. What the court says in this case may have impact on other Java-based Apache projects, including open source middleware, Davies said.
