| [birt-pmc] Initial Draft of BIRT 2.1 plan |
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Further to the PMC call this morning, here’s the
initial draft of the BIRT 2.1 plan. We expect to add a number of projects to
this plan over time, but this is an initial list of projects. The goal is to
upload this on to the site tomorrow. Please provide me with feedback. Thanks!
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BIRT Project DRAFT 2.1 Plan
Last revised January 27, 2006
This document lays out the feature and API set for the next feature release of the Eclipse BIRT project after 2.0, designated release 2.1.
Plans do not materialize out of nowhere, nor are they entirely static. To ensure the planning process is transparent and open to the entire Eclipse community, plans are posted in an embryonic form and then revised from time to time throughout the release cycle.
The first part of the plan deals with the important matters of release deliverables, release milestones, target operating environments, and release-to-release compatibility. These are all things that need to be clear for any release, even if no features were to change.
The remainder of the plan consists of plan items for the projects under the Eclipse BIRT project. Each plan item covers a feature or API that is to be added, or some aspect that is to be improved. Each plan item has its own entry in the Eclipse bugzilla database, with a title and a concise summary (usually a single paragraph) that explains the work item at a suitably high enough level so that everyone can readily understand what the work item is without having to understand the nitty-gritty detail.
Please send comments about this draft plan to the BIRT Developer mailing list.
The release deliverables are:
The Eclipse BIRT 2.1 release milestones will be synchronized with the Eclipse Callisto simultaneous release. The first BIRT 2.1 milestone will be designated M5 in order to synchronize with the Callisto simultaneus release numbering. All release deliverables will be available for download as soon as the release has been tested and validated in the target operating configurations listed below.
Release milestones:
For information about new features assigned to each milestone please refer to the bugzilla database. The bugzilla database will be updated on an ongoing basis as the plan progresses.
In order to remain current, each release of an Eclipse project targets reasonably current versions of underlying operating environments and other Eclipse projects on which it depends.
Most of Eclipse, and all of BIRT, is “pure” Java™ code and has no direct dependence on the underlying operating system. For BIRT, the chief dependence is on the Eclipse Platform, Graphical Editor Framework (GEF), Modeling Framework (EMF), and on the Java 2 Platform that runs it.
The Eclipse BIRT 2.1 release depends on the following compatibility stack:
BIRT 2.1 Reference Stack for Eclipse 3.2The Eclipse Platform and BIRT run in a variety of operating environments. Testing is focused on a handful of popular combinations of operating system and Java 2 Platform; these are our reference platforms. Eclipse BIRT undoubtedly runs fine in many operating environments beyond the reference platforms we test. However, since we do not systematically test them we cannot vouch for them. Problems encountered when running Eclipse BIRT on non-reference platforms that cannot be recreated on any reference platform will be given lower priority than problems with running Eclipse BIRT on a reference platform.
For BIRT 2.1, the project team plans to tests and validate the following reference platforms:
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Eclipse BIRT Report Framework 2.1 and Eclipse BIRT
RCP Report Designer 2.1 Reference Platforms
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| Operating system | Processor architecture | Window system | Java 2 Platform |
| Microsoft Windows XP | Intel x86 | Win32 | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2, version 5.0 |
| Microsoft Windows 2000 | Intel x86 | Win32 | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2, version 5.0 |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2003 | Intel x86 | Win32 | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2, version 5.0 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 3.0 | Intel x86 | GTK | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2 |
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Eclipse BIRT Runtime 2.1 and Eclipse BIRT Charts
2.1 Reference Platforms
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| Operating system | Processor architecture | Window system | Java 2 Platform |
| Microsoft Windows XP | Intel x86 | Win32* | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2 |
| Microsoft Windows XP | Intel x86 | Win32* | IBM SDK 1.4.2 |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2003 | Intel x86 | Win32* | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2 |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2003 | Intel x86 | Win32* | IBM SDK 1.4.2 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 3.0 | Intel x86 | GTK* | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2, BlackDown SDK 1.4.2 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 | Intel x86 | YaST* | Sun Java 2 Standard Edition, version 1.4.2, BlackDown SDK 1.4.2 |
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BIRT Application Server Reference
Platform
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| Apache Tomcat 4.1.x, 5.5.x |
| JBoss AS 4.0.2 |
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BIRT JDBC Reference Platforms
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| MySQL Connector/J 3.x JDBC driver |
| Derby V5.1 JDBC driver |
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BIRT Browsers and Viewers Reference
Platforms
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| Mozilla Firefox 1.0 |
| Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 |
Eclipse is designed as the basis for internationalized products. The user interface elements provided by the various Eclipse projects, including dialogs and error messages, are externalized. The English strings for BIRT are provided as the default resource bundles. Translations are provided with this release for French (fr_FR), German (de_DE), Spanish (es_ES), Japanese (ja_JP), Simplified Chinese (zh_CN), and Korean (ko_KR).
BIRT 2.1 will be compatible with earlier versions of BIRT to the greatest extent possible. The nature and scope of some of the key plan items for BIRT 2.1 are such that the only feasible solutions might break compatibility. In other regards, BIRT 2.1 will be compatible with 2.0 and 1.x. We also aim to minimize the effort required to port an existing plug-in to the 2.1 APIs.
BIRT 2.1 will be compatible with BIRT 2.0 and 1.x unless noted. The detailed compatibility statement is listed below. In this statement, "BIRT" refers to all BIRT components: BIRT Report Framework, BIRT Runtime, and BIRT Chart SDK.
API Contract Compatibility: BIRT 2.1 will be upwards contract-compatible with BIRT 2.0 and 1.x to the greatest extent possible. All incompatibility exceptions will be documented. Downward contract compatibility is not supported. There is no guarantee that compliance with BIRT 2.1 APIs will ensure compliance with BIRT 2.0 or 1.x APIs. Refer to general Eclipse document on Evolving APIs for a discussion of the kinds of API changes that maintain contract compatibility.
The BIRT Chart UI API v2.1 is compatible with the v2.0 API but not compatible with the v1.x APIs due to a full redesign of the Chart UI in the BIRT 2.0 release.
Binary (plug-in) Compatibility: The BIRT 2.1 plug-in framework will be upwards binary-compatible with BIRT 2.0 and 1.x plug-ins to the greatest extent possible. Downward plug-in compatibility is not supported. Plug-ins for BIRT 2.1 will not be usable in BIRT 2.0 or 1.x. Extension plug-ins for BIRT 2.0 and 1.x will be upwards binary-compatible with BIRT 2.1.
Source Compatibility: BIRT 2.1 will be upwards source-compatible with BIRT 2.0 and 1.x to the greatest extent possible. This means that source files written to use BIRT 2.0 or 1.x APIs will successfully compile and run against BIRT 2.1 APIs. Downward source compatibility is not supported. If source files use new BIRT APIs, they will not be usable with an earlier version of BIRT.
Report Design Compatibility:BIRT 2.1 will be upwards report design compatible with BIRT 2.0 and 1.x unless noted. This means that reports created with BIRT 2.0 or 1.x can be successfully opened by BIRT 2.1 and upgraded to a 2.1 format.
Non-compliant usage of API's: All non-API methods and classes, and certainly everything in a package with "internal" in its name, are considered implementation details which may vary between operating environment and are subject to change without notice. Client plug-ins that directly depend on anything other than what is specified in the BIRT API are inherently unsupportable and receive no guarantees about compatibility within a single release much less with an earlier releases.
Continuing on the themes for previous releases of BIRT, the BIRT project's overriding release 2.1 theme remains extending the Eclipse platform to provide infrastructure and tools that allow application developers to design, deploy, generate and view reports within their applications. In this context, the BIRT project also adopts and supports key themes within the overall Eclipse planning process.
Project planning is still under way for BIRT 2.1 and this plan will be updated in the coming weeks to add new projects as they are identified. Projects already identified are:
Integration with Eclipse Callisto Simultaneous Release The goal of the Callisto Simultaneous Release is to release ten major Eclipse projects at the same time to support the needs of the ecosystem members who integrate Eclipse frameworks into their own software and products. Callisto is about developers helping developers serve the whole Eclipse community. [Theme: Appeal to a Broader Community]
Provide support for the Eclipse 3.2 Platform The BIRT 2.1 release will be tested on the Eclipse 3.2 Platform Release. [Theme: Scaling up and Enterprise Ready]
Improve distribution and installation of BIRT Users of BIRT, especially new users, can sometimes be overwhelmed by the complexity of the installation of BIRT and all the components that it depends on. This project aims to improve the end user experience of downloading and installing BIRT and all of its related components. [Theme: Simple to Use]
ICU4J Integration Integrating the International Components for Unicode for Java will enable BIRT 2.1 to work with text in any language for any place in the world. ICU4J continues to extend Java's Unicode and internationalization support, improving performance, staying current with the Unicode standard, and providing richer APIs, while remaining as compatible as possible with the original Java text and internationalization API design. [Theme: Appeal to a Broader Community]