February 09, 2006
The year
2005 was certainly an interesting one for open source GIS software,
with the highlight arguably being Autodesk’s announcement to join the
movement and release significant technology to open source. The result
was the formation of a new open source foundation (that has been
without a name). It seemed that the coming together of open source and
private labels would not be as easy as one might think. After several
weeks of mind-melding and Internet discussions, the time came for
interested parties to get together and talk, which they did this past
Saturday in Chicago. (Adena Schutzberg’s report here.)
A common complaint on the part of the private labels about open source
GIS is the lack of organization behind the software. While various open
source titles certainly have enjoyed a great deal of organization
behind their individual titles, a formal organization among projects
has indeed been lacking. The announcement of this new foundation,
and the fallout that followed, may well have exposed that lack of
organization.
And so, the meeting in Chicago had a lot riding on it. If this first
meeting were to go well, then we might witness the birth of the next
Apache Foundation (which arguably represents one of the strongest of
its kind in the world). If it were to go poorly, then we might witness
the beginning of the end - or rather, the end of something that never
got started.
Well folks . . . apparently it went very well.
Much effort went into getting people to Chicago this past Saturday.
Three European groups were represented, along with groups from Canada
and the U.S. Included in the mix were representatives from the Apache
Foundation (to provide significant guidance, advice and experience),
Collabnet (the distributed software company that was picked to provide
the infrastructure on which the new foundation will be based), the Open
Source Software Institute, the GRASS Community, the GeoTools Project,
Autodesk, and the MapServer Community. Interestingly, Lizardtech was
also present…which added an odd and interesting point to ponder about
other private labels that might eventually join the party.
Ten hours of meetings (did I mention this was on a Saturday?) led to a
lot of resolutions. First and foremost, Open Source Geospatial
Foundation (OSGEO) was the name chosen for the new foundation. The new
website will soon be found at www.osgeo.org.
Five members of the new Board were elected, with four more to be added
as the membership grows. They decided that the membership would grow to
45 (including the Board members). Interestingly, they also decided that
membership could include non-programmers. Therefore, people who
contribute to the foundation and foundation projects in meaningful ways
other than writing code will be eligible for membership. This is
certainly different from the Apache Foundation - and should add a
variety of perspectives and objectives to the foundation’s
discussions. These are perspectives that the GIS industry demands.
This form of organization offers a degree of control to its members.
For example, new members must be nominated by an existing member. Their
nominations will be considered based on non-financial contributions to
the foundation and its projects and goals. There appears to be no
method of “buying” your way onto the Board. This is not true of all
foundations - and is most likely the result of many comments over the
past few months regarding Autodesk’s motivations. There were a number
of comments regarding other private labels that might wish to
participate over time as well. The concern was that the value of open
source might become diluted. This arrangement should calm those fears
in the short term, and the foundation’s visibly adhering to these
principals over time should keep those fears from arising in the future.
Electing five members of the Board at this time also seemed to be a
good move. It will allow the full membership to complete the Board in
the months ahead. This plan should address those in the open source
community who might not have been able to attend this first meeting,
but would still want a voice in this selection process. Certainly,
there are a number of worthy individuals who could and should be a part
of this membership, but were not present at this initial meeting (did I
mention this was on a Saturday?).
On the question of how individual projects will be handled to ensure
that their participation continually supports the foundation’s goals
and objectives, members decided that each project will appoint a Vice
President who will report to the Board. VP’s must be current members of
the foundation. This concept should ensure a high degree of stability
not only within a project, but among projects that can share
components, concepts and even code. This step should ensure that each
project contributes to the foundation’s momentum, with everyone pulling
in the same direction.
As for dirty laundry, it seemed to be decided even before the meeting
that Autodesk’s code contribution to the foundation would be renamed
MapGuide Open Source, thereby enabling the MapServer name to remain
intact and releasing the terms “Enterprise” and “Cheetah” to the worlds
of overused phrases and endangered species. Thankfully, that short
chapter in the life of this new foundation is over.
Also noteworthy was the fact that Autodesk pledged to fund the
foundation through its first full year of existence. This is not a
minor point. Foundations are created everyday without funding, with the
statistical probability of success lying somewhere between a Christmas
tree farm in Vegas and an ice cube factory in Alaska. This funding
supported the meeting in Chicago (did I mention it was on a Saturday?)
and will likely support meetings to be held in the near future, along
with the underlying infrastructure provided by Collabnet. And this
financial commitment will continue to support needs in the year ahead,
those both foreseen and unforeseen.
So, what do we have here? Is this just another “pie in the sky” idea?
Or do we have the start of something real? Clearly, the opportunity
exists for OSGEO to become what it aspires to be. With OSGEO comes the
opportunity for new partnerships, new business models and new levels of
open source technology advancement. OSGEO will provide a new platform
for discussions, vision and interaction, with an open door to new
perspectives and ideas. No one knows what will come of this new
foundation - just like no one knew what would become of Apache. It does
appear, however, that this first step is a strong one, and that is all
we can ask for.
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| Hi Kevin - Thank you for writing about us in your article. I wanted to correct the perception that the Apache Software Foundation only elects programmers into membership. I'm a member who hasn't contributed code to the ASF. I contribute my time doing public relations and marketing related activities. We also have members who have contributed by writing documentation, responding to end-user inquiries on mailing lists, and other non-code-contribution specific tasks. We're an organization that definitely welcomes all kinds of contribution - though software is at the heart of what we do, it takes all kinds of talents to make us a whole community. -susan |
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