[ANN] The Once and Future Avalon

[J Aaron Farr <fa...@apache.org>]

Hello all.

Avalon is taking a new direction.

The project has grown quite a bit since its inception in 1999 as the 
Apache Java Server Framework and since the transfer from Jakarta to its 
own top level project in 2002.  In light of the events over those years, 
Avalon is taking a new step and dissolving from a single project into 
several new projects which will carry on the software and spirit of Avalon.

The ASF Board has been notified of the current affairs, in particular 
the Metro fork and movement of code to Excalibur.  The plan is to 
dismantle Avalon over the next several weeks.  Following which, the 
Board will make the shutdown official at ApacheCon in November.  This 
was done to give us time to handle the closure and transfers here before 
an official dissolution resolution is submitted and passed.

Avalon's closure means that the site, subversion repositories, and 
mailing lists will be closed down and made read only.  Everything will 
still be made available in the distribution mirrors and archives.  The 
current site will most likely be removed and a closure notice placed, 
though we have no detailed plan on the site yet.

Avalon will not turn into abandon-ware, however.  The various components 
of the Avalon platform have been moved or transferred to other locations:

   Excalibur   --> Apache Excalibur  (http://excalibur.apache.org)
   Fortress    --> Apache Excalibur  (http://excalibur.apache.org)
   Framework   --> Apache Excalibur  (http://excalibur.apache.org)
   Cornerstone --> Apache Excalibur  (http://excalibur.apache.org)
   LogKit      --> Apache Excalibur  (http://excalibur.apache.org)
   Phoenix     --> Codehaus Loom     (http://loom.codehaus.org)
   Merlin      --> DPML Metro        (http://dpml.net)
   Magic       --> DPML Metro        (http://dpml.net)


We have a lot of work to do over the next couple of weeks to ensure a 
smooth transition.  Much of that work will not occur here in Avalon but 
in the various projects and communities which will be hosting the code. 
  Those interested in assisting should contact the respective new project.

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to Avalon over the years 
and for all the support which has been provided.  If anyone has any 
questions or concerns about the situation, feel free to post them on the 
mailing list or even contact me directly.

Thank you,
J Aaron Farr
Avalon Project Management Committee Chair

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