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Posted to dev@commons.apache.org by Nicola Ken Barozzi <ni...@apache.org> on 2002/03/27 17:52:41 UTC

[SCRATCHPAD PROPOSAL] Morphos

I'm writing to this list to ask for the creation of a new module in commons
scratchpad called "morphos".

The scope is to make a simple to use package for file format
transformations.
Currently we will concentrate on XML.

Committers needing access would be:

nicolaken@apache.org (POI,Cocoon,Forrest)
acoliver@apache.org (POI)
mjohnson@apache.org (POI)
sylvain@apache.org (Cocoon)
sanders@apache.org (Commons et all)

Here is a draft proposal of what we intend to do.

---------------------------------------------
  MORPHOS DRAFT PROPOSAL
---------------------------------------------

This is a proposal on what can be done with the Cocoon POI XML classes, and
expand the poject to have a highly focused but more wide-encompassing scope.

Here are the needs.

           -------------------
              Low overhead          [ POI Dev Community ]
           -------------------

The XML POI code has already had an impact on the work on POI, Cocoon and
Lucene and will undoubtably pull some impact on POI but this seems to me to
be the lowest. POI needs to remain tightly focused in thismoment to thrive.

           -------------------
             high visibility          [ POI Dev Community , users ]
           -------------------

High visibility on the xml part will undoubtly increase visibility of the
POI project.

           -------------------
             minimal hassle          [ users ]
           -------------------

Minimal hassle for configuring POI in other projects, as Cocoon.If its a
pain to install and configure, I won't use it, let alone anyone else.

           -------------------
           growth opportunity        [ developers ]
           -------------------

We need to make a community round it, and it should be easy to get in, and
interesting enough to get to know about it.

           -------------------
            generic xml<->file      [ users, other projects ]
           -------------------

The main concern is transformations of binary formats to/from XML (i.e.
generators and serializers), but could also include XML to XML (i.e.
transformers).
This could be a great bonus for users the now are limited to JAXP stuff, and
for projects like Cocoon that wouldn't need to keep so many other projects
inside just for this step.

---------------------------------------------------------------
                PROPOSAL:  MORPHOS
---------------------------------------------------------------

For this I propose the creation of a project called Morphos with the
scope of transforming file formats.

These code units to transform from-to binary-xml format
would be called XMorphers.

The activities related to this main concern include :

- developing and hosting code, preferably based on standard SAX/DOM
interface. Some Avalon/Cocoon-aware components can also be accepted : this
will promote Avalon & Cocoon as the framework of choice, but we must be
careful about avoiding dependencies where it is possible so that XMorphers
can be used in other environments.

- developing and promoting general-purpose frameworks for writing XMorphers.
This includes the ElementProcessor stuff, but also some other tools like the
Chaperon parser.

- manage a directory of available XMorphers, be they hosted by Morphos or
not (something like a dedicated equivalent to www.xmlsoftware.com)

- manage a directory of XMorpher-aware frameworks, i.e. tools where one can
plug XMorphers. We should provide here a compatibility matrix. Not to say
that Cocoon _must_ be the most compatible of all frameworks ;)

--------------------------------
 ROADMAP - Approved
--------------------------------

Reviewed by:
[X]Scott
[X]Nicola Ken
[X]Sylvain
[X]Marc  (lazy vote)
[X]Andy

This roadmap has been approved.

Project: Morphos (akin to xerces, xalan, ...)

1. [Nicola KEn] Create a  commons-sandbox repository named
                                            morphos
        Committers will be: Andy, Marc, Sylvain, Scott and I.

2. [Nicola Ken] Install there the project template using
      Centipede (http://www.krysalis.org/)

3. [Andy] Copy ElementProcessor in morphos, refactoring
   the code in package
  org.apache.commons.[todecide].components.elementprocessor
   This is the generic elementprocessor framework without any POI
   dependency.

4. [Nicola Ken]   Add morphos to Gump.

5. [Sylvain&Scott   All] Propose and discuss briefly about
    the XM (XMorph)
    interfaces that will be our contract as a project. Basically an
    extension to the JAXP ones. Remember Avalon's role in all this.

 6. [Marc&Andy] Once the XMorph interfaces are there, move the poi
      elementprocessor implementation in morphos and
      implement the XMorph interfaces for it.
      In the future it is auspicable that the originating projects host
      implementations if it suits them, but for now we need the
      meat here.
      POI can move them to morphos for a bootstrap, and
      take control back after the 2.0 release, or when POI
      is ready/has time for it.

7. [All] Decide the packaging of each XMorph Component, and the
       "installation", so that the XM manager becomes aware of their
      presence automagically.
      Check that it works well with Cocoon too, and without
      compulsory static config. Use Avalon.

8. [Sylvain] Remove elementprocessor from Cocoon and use
     morphos jar instead; rewrite the Serializer to use XMorph
    stuff.
     In this way Cocoon can Serialize anything that XMorph has to give,
     by just specifying the XMorph to use as a parameter to the
      XMorphGenerator,  XMorphTransformer, XMorphSerializer.
     Keep stupid people like Andy in mind ;-P

 9. [Sylvain&Nicola Ken et all] Do the XMorph move for other
     projects Cocoon uses.
     Examples are FOP & Batik.

10. [All] Drink (virtual) Champagne and beer once all this is done ;)


--
Nicola Ken Barozzi                   nicolaken@apache.org
            - verba volant, scripta manent -
   (discussions get forgotten, just code remains)
---------------------------------------------------------------------


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Re: [SCRATCHPAD PROPOSAL] Morphos

Posted by "Geir Magnusson Jr." <ge...@optonline.net>.
On 3/28/02 11:54 AM, "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org> wrote:

> From: "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org>
> 
>> I'm writing to this list to ask for the creation of a new module in
> commons
>> scratchpad called "morphos".
>> 
>> The scope is to make a simple to use package for file format
>> transformations.
>> Currently we will concentrate on XML.
>> 
>> Committers needing access would be:
>> 
>> nicolaken@apache.org (POI,Cocoon,Forrest)
>> acoliver@apache.org (POI)
>> mjohnson@apache.org (POI)
>> sylvain@apache.org (Cocoon)
>> sanders@apache.org (Commons et all)
> 
> Can someone please give karma to the above developers for commons-sandbox?

I'll be happy to.  There is one issue - a few weeks ago, it seemed to be
asserted that only Jakarta committers  had access to the commons sandbox.
Sylvain, as far as I can tell by looking at CVSROOT/avail, is not a Jakarta
committer.

Is it time to dispense with that restriction and modify our charter?

geir

-- 
Geir Magnusson Jr.                                     geirm@optonline.net
System and Software Consulting
POC lives!


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Re: [SCRATCHPAD PROPOSAL] Morphos

Posted by "Geir Magnusson Jr." <ge...@optonline.net>.
On 3/31/02 7:10 PM, "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org> wrote:

> From: "Geir Magnusson Jr." <ge...@optonline.net>
> 
> 
>> On 3/28/02 11:54 AM, "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> From: "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org>
>>> 
>>>> I'm writing to this list to ask for the creation of a new module in
>>> commons
>>>> scratchpad called "morphos".
> ...
>>> Can someone please give karma to the above developers for
> commons-sandbox?
>>> 
>>> Thank you :-)
>> 
>> All added to commons-sandbox to keep the vote from holding the project up.
>> Will add sylvain at end of vote (as this *has* to be a positive outcome :)
> 
> Thank you. :-)
> 

My pleasure.

>> Quick question - since you are doing XML, why not start in the xml
> sandbox?
>> (I think there is one...)
> 
> AFAIK, the xml-commons charter is a bit different from the jakarta-commons
> one.
> At http://xml.apache.org/commons/ I read:
> " it will also tend to be more focused on smaller, interoperable modules of
> code and a very high degree of stability."

That was sort of the hope for commons as well... :)

> and
> "to get all xml.apache.org projects to take their xml standards oriented
> code - like DOM, SAX and JAXP - from specific marked builds of xml-commons"

Ah.  That's not too different from what we intended to do here.  The idea
was that jakarta projects, then oriented towards server-side java, were to
have commons as a 'neutral' ground for sharing components - pooling, general
utilites, bean stuff....

 
> Since Morphos is going to have XML  as one of many formats for file
> conversion (though initially the preferred), since it is going to use
> Jakarta POI, and since it will (hopefully :-) use many Jakarta projects, we
> thought that Jakarta Commons would have been the best solution.

Indeed.
 
> Because of this, I applaude the proposal to open the jakarta commons to all
> Apache committers.

That's the jakarta commons sandbox, not commons.
 
> --
> Nicola Ken Barozzi                   nicolaken@apache.org
>           - verba volant, scripta manent -
>  (discussions get forgotten, just code remains)
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> --
> To unsubscribe, e-mail:   <ma...@jakarta.apache.org>
> For additional commands, e-mail: <ma...@jakarta.apache.org>
> 

-- 
Geir Magnusson Jr.                                     geirm@optonline.net
System and Software Consulting

Uncertainty breeds confusion and confusion breeds despair. - Ceki Gulcu


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Re: [SCRATCHPAD PROPOSAL] Morphos

Posted by Nicola Ken Barozzi <ni...@apache.org>.
From: "Geir Magnusson Jr." <ge...@optonline.net>


> On 3/28/02 11:54 AM, "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org> wrote:
>
> > From: "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org>
> >
> >> I'm writing to this list to ask for the creation of a new module in
> > commons
> >> scratchpad called "morphos".
...
> > Can someone please give karma to the above developers for
commons-sandbox?
> >
> > Thank you :-)
>
> All added to commons-sandbox to keep the vote from holding the project up.
> Will add sylvain at end of vote (as this *has* to be a positive outcome :)

Thank you. :-)

> Quick question - since you are doing XML, why not start in the xml
sandbox?
> (I think there is one...)

AFAIK, the xml-commons charter is a bit different from the jakarta-commons
one.
At http://xml.apache.org/commons/ I read:
" it will also tend to be more focused on smaller, interoperable modules of
code and a very high degree of stability."
and
"to get all xml.apache.org projects to take their xml standards oriented
code - like DOM, SAX and JAXP - from specific marked builds of xml-commons"

Since Morphos is going to have XML  as one of many formats for file
conversion (though initially the preferred), since it is going to use
Jakarta POI, and since it will (hopefully :-) use many Jakarta projects, we
thought that Jakarta Commons would have been the best solution.

Because of this, I applaude the proposal to open the jakarta commons to all
Apache committers.

--
Nicola Ken Barozzi                   nicolaken@apache.org
            - verba volant, scripta manent -
   (discussions get forgotten, just code remains)
---------------------------------------------------------------------


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Re: [SCRATCHPAD PROPOSAL] Morphos

Posted by "Geir Magnusson Jr." <ge...@optonline.net>.
On 3/28/02 11:54 AM, "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org> wrote:

> From: "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org>
> 
>> I'm writing to this list to ask for the creation of a new module in
> commons
>> scratchpad called "morphos".
>> 
>> The scope is to make a simple to use package for file format
>> transformations.
>> Currently we will concentrate on XML.
>> 
>> Committers needing access would be:
>> 
>> nicolaken@apache.org (POI,Cocoon,Forrest)
>> acoliver@apache.org (POI)
>> mjohnson@apache.org (POI)
>> sylvain@apache.org (Cocoon)
>> sanders@apache.org (Commons et all)
> 
> Can someone please give karma to the above developers for commons-sandbox?
> 
> Thank you :-)

All added to commons-sandbox to keep the vote from holding the project up.
Will add sylvain at end of vote (as this *has* to be a positive outcome :)

Quick question - since you are doing XML, why not start in the xml sandbox?
(I think there is one...)

geir

-- 
Geir Magnusson Jr.                                     geirm@optonline.net
System and Software Consulting

Maven & Gump are friends


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Re: [SCRATCHPAD PROPOSAL] Morphos

Posted by Nicola Ken Barozzi <ni...@apache.org>.
From: "Nicola Ken Barozzi" <ni...@apache.org>

> I'm writing to this list to ask for the creation of a new module in
commons
> scratchpad called "morphos".
>
> The scope is to make a simple to use package for file format
> transformations.
> Currently we will concentrate on XML.
>
> Committers needing access would be:
>
> nicolaken@apache.org (POI,Cocoon,Forrest)
> acoliver@apache.org (POI)
> mjohnson@apache.org (POI)
> sylvain@apache.org (Cocoon)
> sanders@apache.org (Commons et all)

Can someone please give karma to the above developers for commons-sandbox?

Thank you :-)

--
Nicola Ken Barozzi                   nicolaken@apache.org
            - verba volant, scripta manent -
   (discussions get forgotten, just code remains)
---------------------------------------------------------------------


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