Cassandra feels like an unfinished program to me. The problem is not that it's open source or cutting edge. It's an open source cutting edge program that lacks some of its basic functionality. We are all stuck addressing fundamental mechanical tasks for Cassandra because the basic code that would do that part has not been contributed yet.
Ease of use issues need to be given much more attention. For an administrator, the ease of use of Cassandra is very poor. Furthermore, currently Cassandra is an idiot. We have to do everything for Cassandra. Contrast that with the fact that we are in the dawn of artificial intelligence. Software exists to automate tasks for humans, not mechanize humans to administer tasks for a database. I'm an engineering type. My job is to apply science and technology to solve real world problems. And that's where I need an organization's I.T. talent to focus; not in crank starting an unfinished database. For example, I should be able to go to any node, replace the Cassandra.yaml file and have a prompt on the display ask me if I want to update all the yaml files across the cluster. I shouldn't have to manually modify yaml files on each node or have to create a script for some third party automation tool to do it. I should not have to turn off service, clear directories, restart service in coordination with the other nodes. It's already a computer system. It can do those things on its own. How about read repair. First there is something wrong with the name. Maybe it should be called Consistency Repair. An administrator shouldn't have to do anything. It should be a behavior of Cassandra that is programmed in. It should consider the GC setting of each node, calculate how often it has to run repair, when it should run it so all the nodes aren't trying at the same time and when other circumstances indicate it should also run it. Certificate management should be automated. Cluster wide management should be a big theme in any next major release. What is a major release? How many major releases could a program have before all the coding for basic stuff like installation, configuration and maintenance is included! Finish the basic coding of Cassandra, make it easy to use for administrators, make is smart, add cluster wide management. Keep Cassandra competitive or it will soon be the old Model T we all remember fondly. I ask the Committee to compile a list of all such items, make a plan, and commit to including the completed and tested code as part of major release 5.0. I further ask that release 4.0 not be delayed and then there be an unusually short skip to version 5.0. Kenneth Brotman
