Jean T. Anderson wrote:
Kathey Marsden wrote:
I noticed today that with DERBY-4754 we brought Apache Harmony code
for lobs into Derby. I know we have been using Harmony code for the
stubs for build checks but actually using the code runtime seems an
extra step and I am not sure what implications it has for the
project. Do we now need to do due diligence for CLA's etc on the
code we use or is it ok to just have faith that Harmony has done the
right thing? I also am a little wary about supporting any large
amount of code from outside. This is just two small files, but maybe
it sets a precedent that is not good. Maybe it is all fine, but I am
curious about opinions.
For whatever it's worth, I think the Harmony project has exercised
stricter due diligence than most projects from the very beginning.
While they were in the Incubator they filed separate IP clearances for
contributions from various companies when they could have followed an
easier process by lumping them together as part of the main Harmony
incubator page (backed by the appropriately filed software grants, of
course). Look for the Harmony / Incubator entries in the IP clearance
page that established ASF projects use to process contributions:
http://incubator.apache.org/ip-clearance/index.html
Harmony has gone to great trouble with their contribution policy to
minimize risk to the ASF:
http://harmony.apache.org/contribution_policy.html
I agree with Jean that Harmony has tighter rules about who can even
contribute code. I believe that Harmony will not accept contributions
from anyone who has worked on the Oracle/Sun JDK--those contributions
are considered to be tainted. Applying that kind of rule to Derby might
prevent some of our committers from contributing--it could be argued
that their work is tainted by familiarity with the closed-source
databases made by their previous employers.
Apache projects are free to include other Apache projects. Just need
to be careful to include the proper attribution.
An extra attribution to Harmony was added to the NOTICE file when the
classes were checked in.
Regards,
-Rick
regards,
-jean
Thanks
Kathey
