At this location, you can see the current XML Project charter: http://cvs.apache.org/viewcvs.cgi/xml-admin/charter.txt
I propose that we take that charter and adapt it to ours since it is easier to start from something already accepted ;P . If we like it, let's commit it to CVS so that we can track changes. (I would do it, but I am behind a corporate firewall). Below is my first stab. Aside from writing the mission statement (which needs to be updated and commented on), I added this phrase to the PMC section: " It is also possible for a project depending on Avalon to nominate a representative. The representative of the client project still needs to be unanimously approved by all PMC members, and a two-thirds majority vote of committers. " The only other work I did was changing all references from XML to Avalon. ------------------------ avalon.apache.org ----------------------------- avalon.apache.org is a collaborative software development project dedicated to providing robust, full-featured, commercial-quality, and freely available component architecture. This project is managed in cooperation with various individuals worldwide (both independent and company-affiliated experts), who use the Internet to communicate, plan, and develop Avalon component software and related documentation. This charter briefly describes the mission, history, organization, and processes of the project. MISSION ======= avalon.apache.org exists to promote the use of Avalon components. Component Based Design is a proven practice that helps create systems that are loosely coupled and easy to maintain. Component Based Design requires a general framework, components, and containers to function properly. avalon.apache.org defines the framework, the reference implementation of the containers, the compliance testing suite, and a set of components that can be used in third party projects. These components plug into each other using standard APIs (formal, de facto, or proposed). The components must be high performance, reliable, secure, and easy to use. The components must be part of an underlying architectural orchestration that will allow them to work together without major negotiations or breakage. We believe that the best way to define this Avalon architecture is by having both individuals and corporations collaborate on the best possible infrastructure, APIs, code, testing, and release cycles. Components must be vendor neutral and usable as core components for all. In order to achieve a coherent architecture between avalon.apache.org components and other components and applications, standards (formal or de facto) will be used as much as possible for both protocols and APIs. We will also allow the innovation of new protocols, APIs, and components in order to seed new concepts not yet defined by standards. HISTORY ======= This project was established under the direction of the newly-formed Apache Software Foundation in November 2002 to facilitate joint open-source development. THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ================================ The avalon.apache.org project is managed by a small, core group of contributors known as the Project Management Committee [PMC]. The PMC must have at least one officer from the Apache Board, who will be the Chairperson and report to the Apache Board. See http://www.apache.org/foundation/bylaws.html for reference. The PMC has the following responsibilities: 1) Accepting new subproject proposals, formally submitting these proposals for committer vote, and creating the subproject (see SUBPROJECTS below). 2) Facilitating code or other donations by individuals or companies. 3) Resolving license issues and other legal issues. 4) Approving new committers. 5) Ensuring that administrative and infrastructure work is completed. 6) Facilitating relationships among projects. 7) Facilitating relationships between avalon.apache.org and the external world. 8) Overseeing avalon.apache.org to ensure that the mission defined in this document is being fulfilled. 9) Resolving conflicts within the project. To become a member of the PMC, an individual must be nominated by a contributor, unanimously approved by all PMC members, and approved by a two-thirds majority of committers. In most cases, developers will have actively contributed to development for at least six months before being considered for membership on the PMC. It is also possible for a project depending on Avalon to nominate a representative. The representative of the client project still needs to be unanimously approved by all PMC members, and a two-thirds majority vote of committers. The goal is to keep the membership of the core group at four to seven people in order to minimize the bureaucratic overhead required to keep the project operational. In the unlikely event that a member of the PMC becomes disruptive to the process or ceases to contribute for an extended period, said member may be removed by unanimous vote of remaining PMC members. The PMC is responsible for maintaining and updating this charter. Development must follow the process outlined below, so any change to the development process necessitates a change to the charter. Changes must be unanimously approved by all members of the PMC. A contributor may challenge a change to the charter at any time and ask for a vote of all committers, in which case a two-thirds majority must approve the change. SUBPROJECTS =========== avalon.apache.org is comprised of subprojects; a subproject is a component whose scope is well defined. Each subproject has its own set of developers. A new subproject proposal is submitted to the PMC, accepted by majority committer vote, and then subject to final approval by the PMC. COMMITTERS ========== Each subproject has a set of committers. Committers are developers who have read/write access to the source code repository. New committers are added when a developer is nominated by a committer and approved by at least 50 percent of the committers for that subproject with no opposing votes. In most cases, new committers will already be participating in the development process by submitting suggestions and/or fixes via the bug report page or mailing lists. CONTRIBUTORS ============ Like all Apache projects, the Avalon project is a meritocracy -- the more work you do, the more you are allowed to do. Occasional contributors will be able to report bugs and participate in the mailing lists. Specific changes to a product proposed for discussion or voting on the appropriate development mailing list should be presented in the form of input to the patch command. When sent to the mailing list, the message should contain a subject beginning with [PATCH] and including a distinctive one-line summary that corresponds to the action item for that patch. Use the diff -u command from the original software file(s) to the modified software file(s) to create the patch. Patches should be submitted against the latest CVS versions of the software to avoid conflicts and ensure that you are not submitting a patch for a problem that has already been resolved. Developers who make regular and substantial contributions may become committers as described above. INFRASTRUCTURE ============== The avalon.apache.org project site must provide the following: Bug Database -- This is a system for tracking bugs and feature requests. Subproject Source Repositories -- These are several CVS repositories containing both the source code and documentation for the subprojects. Each subproject will have a set of committers to its repository. Website -- An avalon.apache.org website will contain information about the avalon.apache.org project, including documentation, downloads of releases, and this charter. Each subproject will have its own website with subproject information. PMC Mailing List -- This list is for PMC business requiring confidentiality, particularly when an individual or company requests discretion. All other PMC business should be done on the general mailing list. General Mailing List -- This mailing list is open to the public. It is intended for discussions that cross subprojects. Subproject Mailing Lists -- Each subproject should have a devoted mailing list. Many subprojects may wish to have both user and development lists. The individual subprojects may decide on the exact structure of their mailing lists. LICENSING ========= All contributions to the avalon.apache.org project adhere to the "ASF Source Code License." All further contributions must be made under the same terms. All contributions must contain the following copyright notice: [This changes now that the license is available] Copyright (c) {date} {name of contributor} and others. All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the terms of the ASF Source Code License, as found in the file ASF.code.license.html that is included in this distribution. THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ======================= The development process is intentionally lightweight; like other Apache projects, the committers decide which changes may be committed to the repository. Three +1 ('yes' votes) with no -1 ('no' votes or vetoes) are needed to approve a code change. For efficiency, some code changes from some contributors (e.g. feature additions, bug fixes) may be approved in advance, in which case they may be committed first and changed as needed, with conflicts resolved by majority vote of the committers. SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS ======================= Each subproject must have a set of requirements as well as an up-to-date release plan and design document on its dedicated web page. It must be possible for each subproject to plug into the Gump nightly build system (see http://jakarta.apache.org/builds/gump). It is recommended that each subproject have a smoke-test system that works at least as a basic integration test. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER APACHE PROJECTS ===================================== The avalon.apache.org project should work closely with other Apache projects, such as Jakarta and the Apache Server, to avoid redundancy and achieve a coherent architecture among avalon.apache.org and these projects. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
