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Posted to general@incubator.apache.org by Bertrand Delacretaz <bd...@apache.org> on 2011/12/23 15:32:16 UTC
[PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for mobile
device information
Hi Incubator PMC,
The proposal at http://wiki.apache.org/incubator/DeviceMapProposal
(copied below) is open for discussion, I'm planning to start the vote
to accept it sometime next week.
-Bertrand
*** Apache DeviceMap proposal ***
Abstract
Apache DeviceMap is a data repository containing device information,
images and other relevant information for all sorts of mobile devices,
e.g. smartphones and tablets.
While the focus is initially on that data, APIs will also be created
to use and manage it.
Proposal
Apache DeviceMap allows users to access a wide array of technical
specifications, images and other artifacts related to mobile devices.
Typical mobile devices include smartphones and tablets, such as:
Android devices from multiple vendors
Apple’s iPhone and iPad family of devices
BlackBerry devices
Windows Phone devices from multiple vendors
Symbian devices
Devices with a small marketshare running Bada, Tizen, WebOS etc.
The list of Apache DeviceMap devices remains open to other device
types, as the mobile sector is a highly dynamic marketplace and new
device forms may surface which may not too well fit into a smartphone
/ tablet matrix, e.g. ChromeOS Devices.
Repository Data
The exact structure of the repository data will be defined as the
project progresses.
At the moment we envision storing user agent strings and/or regular
expressions, properties similar to CSS Media Queries, images of the
actual devices, other attributes similar to what’s in UAPROF
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAProf) for example, per-country market
share data, etc.
Modern mobile applications often do not need very detailed device
data, so we will concentrate, at least initially, on basic device
features as used in html5 websites.
The W3C’s Mobile Web Initiative specs
(http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/DDWG/) will also be evaluated for use in
DeviceMap.
Background
The initial motivation for Apache DeviceMap is to provide an open
repository of mobile device data, available to the general public
according to the Apache License.
Rationale
We propose an open and community driven repository containing mobile
device data, thereby allowing for analysis of device capabilities and
feature sets. This is beneficial on several fronts, be it for software
developers, stakeholders/decision makers or analysts.
Initial Goals
Define what form of data is valuable/required to setup a good working repository
Define what image sets are valuable/required
Define a data retention policy, meaning when should data be purged
Collect existing data and setup simple procedures for users to
contribute and validate such data.
Current Status
Proposal is being discussed on the Incubator general list (TODO add
link to that).
Community
This project will form a new community, driven by the initial
committers listed below. We hope and feel that Apache DeviceMap will
draw interest and its community will broaden.
Known Risks
For device images and other data, we’ll need to define acceptance
criteria and traceability rules similar to what Apache uses for code,
to avoid any legal issues.
Gathering data of any sort is a potential sensitive area and may
require good public communication or even public relation activities.
Initial Source
The OpenDDR.org team will donate their existing source code to the
DeviceMap podling.
Initial Committers
Philip Jespersen - philip.jespersen (at) terria (dot) com
Bertrand Delacretaz - bdelacretaz (at) apache (dot) org
Christian Stocker - chregu (at) liip.ch
Scott Wilson - scottbw (at) apache (dot) org
Sylvain Wallez - sylvain (at) apache (dot) org
Andrew Savory - savs (at) apache (dot) org
Nils Dehl - nils.dehl (at) dkd (dot) de
Brian LeRoux - brian (at) apache (dot) org
Stefano Andreani - s.andreani (at) opentecheng (dot) com
Alessandro Bellucci - a.bellucci (at) opentecheng (dot) com
Werner Keil - werner (at) openddr (dot) org
Tim Fernando - info (at) timfernando (dot) com
Required Resources
Mailing lists
devicemap-dev @ incubator.apache.org
devicemap-commits @ incubator.apache.org
devicemap-private @ incubator.apache.org
Subversion Directory
http://svn.apache.org/repos/incubator/devicemap
Issue Tracking
DMAP project in JIRA.
Sponsors
Champion
Bertrand Delacretaz
Nominated Mentors
Sylvain Wallez
Kevan Miller
Bertrand Delacretaz
Sponsoring Entity
Incubator PMC
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for mobile device information
Posted by Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org>.
Thanks. That answers it actually :-)
On Dec 23, 2011, at 12:36 PM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 6:14 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
>> The question is essentially about any existing assets the project is planning to bring to Apache. While any answer to that is unlikely to disqualify the proposal, it may lead to licensing questions, process questions, etc. So while this is curiosity of sorts, I think it is an important thing to understand.
>
> Ok, I see your point and agree - but keep in mind that we're not
> intially planning to adopt any OpenDDR *data* - as I said, doing that
> or not requires more discussion once the podling starts.
>
> -Bertrand
>
>
>
>> On Dec 23, 2011, at 12:04 PM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:57 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Note that the proposal mentions OpenDDR donating their *source code*
>>>>> only - as mentioned in the proposal, the "details" of the repository
>>>>> data will be discussed once the podling starts.
>>>>
>>>> The repository is the most valuable piece here. So I think it is important to discuss this aspect here now. Appreciate the proposal authors commenting on it....
>>>
>>> I agree that the format and contents of the DeviceMap data repository
>>> require serious discussions: which sources of data to use, which
>>> format(s) to use to store and to publish the data, how to trace data
>>> provenance where needed, etc.
>>>
>>> However, all this is IMO out of scope of the "do we agree for
>>> DeviceMap podling to enter incubation" discussion that we're having
>>> now. So, if you're asking out of curiosity I'm fine, but if you think
>>> the acceptance of the podling should be based on this discussion
>>> about the data repository "details", I disagree.
>>>
>>> -Bertrand
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscribe@incubator.apache.org
>>> For additional commands, e-mail: general-help@incubator.apache.org
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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>
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for mobile
device information
Posted by Christian Stocker <ch...@liip.ch>.
On 23.12.11 18:36, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 6:14 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
>> The question is essentially about any existing assets the project is planning to bring to Apache. While any answer to that is unlikely to disqualify the proposal, it may lead to licensing questions, process questions, etc. So while this is curiosity of sorts, I think it is an important thing to understand.
>
> Ok, I see your point and agree - but keep in mind that we're not
> intially planning to adopt any OpenDDR *data* - as I said, doing that
> or not requires more discussion once the podling starts.
I had this "twitter conversation" with Luca Passani, which is the
inventor of WURFL and seems not to be very happy about the openDDR data.
See here:
http://twitter.theinfo.org/150245251838255104
AFAIK the openDDR people do have another stance on the issue than Luca,
but it looks like it's wise to not rely on/use the OpenDDR data before
having looked into that issue very closely.
chregu
>
> -Bertrand
>
>
>
>> On Dec 23, 2011, at 12:04 PM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:57 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Note that the proposal mentions OpenDDR donating their *source code*
>>>>> only - as mentioned in the proposal, the "details" of the repository
>>>>> data will be discussed once the podling starts.
>>>>
>>>> The repository is the most valuable piece here. So I think it is important to discuss this aspect here now. Appreciate the proposal authors commenting on it....
>>>
>>> I agree that the format and contents of the DeviceMap data repository
>>> require serious discussions: which sources of data to use, which
>>> format(s) to use to store and to publish the data, how to trace data
>>> provenance where needed, etc.
>>>
>>> However, all this is IMO out of scope of the "do we agree for
>>> DeviceMap podling to enter incubation" discussion that we're having
>>> now. So, if you're asking out of curiosity I'm fine, but if you think
>>> the acceptance of the podling should be based on this discussion
>>> about the data repository "details", I disagree.
>>>
>>> -Bertrand
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscribe@incubator.apache.org
>>> For additional commands, e-mail: general-help@incubator.apache.org
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscribe@incubator.apache.org
>> For additional commands, e-mail: general-help@incubator.apache.org
>>
>
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for
mobile device information
Posted by Bertrand Delacretaz <bd...@apache.org>.
On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 6:14 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
> The question is essentially about any existing assets the project is planning to bring to Apache. While any answer to that is unlikely to disqualify the proposal, it may lead to licensing questions, process questions, etc. So while this is curiosity of sorts, I think it is an important thing to understand.
Ok, I see your point and agree - but keep in mind that we're not
intially planning to adopt any OpenDDR *data* - as I said, doing that
or not requires more discussion once the podling starts.
-Bertrand
> On Dec 23, 2011, at 12:04 PM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:57 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>>>
>>>> Note that the proposal mentions OpenDDR donating their *source code*
>>>> only - as mentioned in the proposal, the "details" of the repository
>>>> data will be discussed once the podling starts.
>>>
>>> The repository is the most valuable piece here. So I think it is important to discuss this aspect here now. Appreciate the proposal authors commenting on it....
>>
>> I agree that the format and contents of the DeviceMap data repository
>> require serious discussions: which sources of data to use, which
>> format(s) to use to store and to publish the data, how to trace data
>> provenance where needed, etc.
>>
>> However, all this is IMO out of scope of the "do we agree for
>> DeviceMap podling to enter incubation" discussion that we're having
>> now. So, if you're asking out of curiosity I'm fine, but if you think
>> the acceptance of the podling should be based on this discussion
>> about the data repository "details", I disagree.
>>
>> -Bertrand
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscribe@incubator.apache.org
>> For additional commands, e-mail: general-help@incubator.apache.org
>>
>>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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> For additional commands, e-mail: general-help@incubator.apache.org
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for mobile device information
Posted by Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org>.
The question is essentially about any existing assets the project is planning to bring to Apache. While any answer to that is unlikely to disqualify the proposal, it may lead to licensing questions, process questions, etc. So while this is curiosity of sorts, I think it is an important thing to understand.
Andrus
On Dec 23, 2011, at 12:04 PM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
>>
>> On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:57 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>>
>>> Note that the proposal mentions OpenDDR donating their *source code*
>>> only - as mentioned in the proposal, the "details" of the repository
>>> data will be discussed once the podling starts.
>>
>> The repository is the most valuable piece here. So I think it is important to discuss this aspect here now. Appreciate the proposal authors commenting on it....
>
> I agree that the format and contents of the DeviceMap data repository
> require serious discussions: which sources of data to use, which
> format(s) to use to store and to publish the data, how to trace data
> provenance where needed, etc.
>
> However, all this is IMO out of scope of the "do we agree for
> DeviceMap podling to enter incubation" discussion that we're having
> now. So, if you're asking out of curiosity I'm fine, but if you think
> the acceptance of the podling should be based on this discussion
> about the data repository "details", I disagree.
>
> -Bertrand
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscribe@incubator.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: general-help@incubator.apache.org
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for
mobile device information
Posted by Bertrand Delacretaz <bd...@apache.org>.
On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
>
> On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:57 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
>
>> Note that the proposal mentions OpenDDR donating their *source code*
>> only - as mentioned in the proposal, the "details" of the repository
>> data will be discussed once the podling starts.
>
> The repository is the most valuable piece here. So I think it is important to discuss this aspect here now. Appreciate the proposal authors commenting on it....
I agree that the format and contents of the DeviceMap data repository
require serious discussions: which sources of data to use, which
format(s) to use to store and to publish the data, how to trace data
provenance where needed, etc.
However, all this is IMO out of scope of the "do we agree for
DeviceMap podling to enter incubation" discussion that we're having
now. So, if you're asking out of curiosity I'm fine, but if you think
the acceptance of the podling should be based on this discussion
about the data repository "details", I disagree.
-Bertrand
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for mobile device information
Posted by Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org>.
On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:57 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
> Note that the proposal mentions OpenDDR donating their *source code*
> only - as mentioned in the proposal, the "details" of the repository
> data will be discussed once the podling starts.
The repository is the most valuable piece here. So I think it is important to discuss this aspect here now. Appreciate the proposal authors commenting on it.
Andrus
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for
mobile device information
Posted by Bertrand Delacretaz <bd...@apache.org>.
On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 3:44 PM, Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org> wrote:
> ...So what is the origin of OpenDDR database and how does it compare to WURFL?...
I have not checked that myself yet, hopefully the OpenDDR folks can
comment on that.
Note that the proposal mentions OpenDDR donating their *source code*
only - as mentioned in the proposal, the "details" of the repository
data will be discussed once the podling starts.
-Bertrand
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap, a data repository and APIs for mobile device information
Posted by Andrus Adamchik <an...@objectstyle.org>.
Big +1.
With WURFL demise and disgraceful behavior of its founders, we certainly need a truly open source alternative.
So what is the origin of OpenDDR database and how does it compare to WURFL?
Cheers,
Andrus
On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:32 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
> Hi Incubator PMC,
>
> The proposal at http://wiki.apache.org/incubator/DeviceMapProposal
> (copied below) is open for discussion, I'm planning to start the vote
> to accept it sometime next week.
>
> -Bertrand
>
> *** Apache DeviceMap proposal ***
>
> Abstract
>
> Apache DeviceMap is a data repository containing device information,
> images and other relevant information for all sorts of mobile devices,
> e.g. smartphones and tablets.
>
> While the focus is initially on that data, APIs will also be created
> to use and manage it.
>
> Proposal
>
> Apache DeviceMap allows users to access a wide array of technical
> specifications, images and other artifacts related to mobile devices.
> Typical mobile devices include smartphones and tablets, such as:
>
> Android devices from multiple vendors
> Apple’s iPhone and iPad family of devices
> BlackBerry devices
> Windows Phone devices from multiple vendors
> Symbian devices
> Devices with a small marketshare running Bada, Tizen, WebOS etc.
> The list of Apache DeviceMap devices remains open to other device
> types, as the mobile sector is a highly dynamic marketplace and new
> device forms may surface which may not too well fit into a smartphone
> / tablet matrix, e.g. ChromeOS Devices.
>
> Repository Data
>
> The exact structure of the repository data will be defined as the
> project progresses.
>
> At the moment we envision storing user agent strings and/or regular
> expressions, properties similar to CSS Media Queries, images of the
> actual devices, other attributes similar to what’s in UAPROF
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAProf) for example, per-country market
> share data, etc.
>
> Modern mobile applications often do not need very detailed device
> data, so we will concentrate, at least initially, on basic device
> features as used in html5 websites.
>
> The W3C’s Mobile Web Initiative specs
> (http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/DDWG/) will also be evaluated for use in
> DeviceMap.
>
> Background
>
> The initial motivation for Apache DeviceMap is to provide an open
> repository of mobile device data, available to the general public
> according to the Apache License.
>
> Rationale
>
> We propose an open and community driven repository containing mobile
> device data, thereby allowing for analysis of device capabilities and
> feature sets. This is beneficial on several fronts, be it for software
> developers, stakeholders/decision makers or analysts.
>
> Initial Goals
>
> Define what form of data is valuable/required to setup a good working repository
> Define what image sets are valuable/required
> Define a data retention policy, meaning when should data be purged
> Collect existing data and setup simple procedures for users to
> contribute and validate such data.
> Current Status
>
> Proposal is being discussed on the Incubator general list (TODO add
> link to that).
>
> Community
>
> This project will form a new community, driven by the initial
> committers listed below. We hope and feel that Apache DeviceMap will
> draw interest and its community will broaden.
>
> Known Risks
>
> For device images and other data, we’ll need to define acceptance
> criteria and traceability rules similar to what Apache uses for code,
> to avoid any legal issues.
>
> Gathering data of any sort is a potential sensitive area and may
> require good public communication or even public relation activities.
>
> Initial Source
>
> The OpenDDR.org team will donate their existing source code to the
> DeviceMap podling.
>
> Initial Committers
>
> Philip Jespersen - philip.jespersen (at) terria (dot) com
> Bertrand Delacretaz - bdelacretaz (at) apache (dot) org
> Christian Stocker - chregu (at) liip.ch
> Scott Wilson - scottbw (at) apache (dot) org
> Sylvain Wallez - sylvain (at) apache (dot) org
> Andrew Savory - savs (at) apache (dot) org
> Nils Dehl - nils.dehl (at) dkd (dot) de
> Brian LeRoux - brian (at) apache (dot) org
> Stefano Andreani - s.andreani (at) opentecheng (dot) com
> Alessandro Bellucci - a.bellucci (at) opentecheng (dot) com
> Werner Keil - werner (at) openddr (dot) org
> Tim Fernando - info (at) timfernando (dot) com
> Required Resources
>
> Mailing lists
>
> devicemap-dev @ incubator.apache.org
> devicemap-commits @ incubator.apache.org
> devicemap-private @ incubator.apache.org
> Subversion Directory
>
> http://svn.apache.org/repos/incubator/devicemap
>
> Issue Tracking
>
> DMAP project in JIRA.
>
> Sponsors
>
> Champion
>
> Bertrand Delacretaz
>
> Nominated Mentors
>
> Sylvain Wallez
> Kevan Miller
> Bertrand Delacretaz
> Sponsoring Entity
>
> Incubator PMC
>
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> To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscribe@incubator.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: general-help@incubator.apache.org
>
>
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Re: [PROPOSAL] Apache DeviceMap,
a data repository and APIs for mobile device information
Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@verizon.net>.
+1
Sounds very useful!
G
On Dec 23, 2011, at 9:32 AM, Bertrand Delacretaz wrote:
> Hi Incubator PMC,
>
> The proposal at http://wiki.apache.org/incubator/DeviceMapProposal
> (copied below) is open for discussion, I'm planning to start the vote
> to accept it sometime next week.
…
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