[DISCUSS] Ideas for Apache MADlib Renewal

[Dianjin Wang <wa...@gmail.com>]

Hi all,

As a recent contributor to Apache MADlib, I've been working on a few
PRs and observing the project's current state. With Greenplum going
closed source and some long-time contributors becoming less active, I
believe this is a pivotal moment for MADlib.

I'd like to share some thoughts and open them up for discussion. I'm
not a committer or PMC member — just hoping to help MADlib move
forward.

## Project Roadmap

1. PostgreSQL Support
- Add support for PostgreSQL 16/17/18

2. Apache Cloudberry Support
- Merge the in-progress PR [1] (currently blocked by a CI issue; root
cause identified and shared)
- Release MADlib 2.2(?) with official Cloudberry support

3. Greenplum Support
- Freeze Greenplum support at the 2.x line (given it's now closed source)
- Remove Greenplum support in the next major MADlib 3.0(?), unless
maintainers step forward

4. Infrastructure Modernization
- Rebuild test Docker images (current base images are outdated and
unreproducible)
- Optionally migrate CI from Jenkins to GitHub Actions for better
developer experience on GitHub
- Site:
  * Modernize the website with a Markdown-based static site generator
instead of editing html manually
  * Cleaner branch management (use `master` as working branch,
`asf-site` for publishing)

## Community Growth

1. Expand Visibility across the PG and Cloudberry community
- Register a MADlib community account on postgresql.org
- Set up a MADlib channel in the Cloudberry Slack workspace
- Cross-post release announcements or news to both PG and Cloudberry channels.
- Encourage PMC members, committers, and community users to present
MADlib at meetups and conferences

2. Contribution
* Lower the barrier to get involved and contribute
* Encourage and attract more users/developers to join the contribution team.

~~~

The above are just my thoughts. Appreciate feedback from the community:
* Do these ideas align with where MADlib should go next?
* Would it make sense to move forward with these efforts?

Looking forward to the discussion.

[1] https://github.com/apache/madlib/pull/627

Best,
Dianjin Wang