[news.eclipse.technology.ejb-orm] Re: arent there now 2 official EJB3 Pr

[Bjorn Freeman-Benson <bjorn.freeman-benson@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Does the eclipse technology PMC have knowledge of this, namely Bjorn
> Freeman Benson?

I do indeed know about this as does the entire Technology PMC and the 
EMO staff.  Various actions were taken, but in the end the two projects 
chose to work separately.

Robert was very correct in his statement:

> From my perspective, I would say that the bottom line is that it is a
> question of the degree of control .  The Eclipse foundation is not a
> controlling body as much as a governing one that establishes process.
> A subtle difference.  As I see it, while the foundation encourages
> collaboration and unity amoung projects, it does not enforce it.

The Foundation requires certain behaviors, encourages others, and lets 
the projects flourish on other axises.  It would be a mistake to have a 
single controlling entity insisting that everything be done "The One 
Way" where there is so much energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and talent 
amongst our committers and members.  I believe that one of the big keys 
to open source success is "openness" - the ability to let go of certain 
decisions and let those closest to the facts control the direction.

But I'm getting a little off-topic: the point here is whether this two 
ORM projects situation is sad:

> This is really sad to hear about, as it is a precedence of substantial
> fragmentation to occur among eclipse technology sub-projects.

I will say that it is disappointing, but it is not wrong and not a 
problem.  Having two teams investigate similar issues from different 
approaches has certain benefits - for example, we get to compare and 
contrast two different approaches and then choose the best one.  It has 
certain disadvantages as well - for example, if their approaches are 
similar, then one team's work may be "wasted" when it does not become 
the commonly accepted package.

> So, at times these things will occur.

This is not the first instance in even Eclipse's short life, but it 
certainly is the most public.

I think we should get past the "why are there two ORM projects?" issue 
and work on the ORM technology - as Robert said "in the end there [will 
soon be] a solution ... for ORM in Eclipse and for today that is really 
what is important.".

-Bjorn