All, -The short version:
I would like to propose that CouchDB be developed and maintained separately from a management GUI.” -The longer rambling version: I would like to see CouchDB 2.x+ adopt a model that resembles that of Riak, Cassandra, and others, where there is a core server and everything else is optional. It’s so easy to setup a Cassandra and Riak server or cluster from the command line with just a bit of good documentation. I really like the fact that they are decoupled from an administrative tool like Futon or Faxuton. By decoupling the admin GUI’s from the database, it paves the way for others to create new GUI tools, and reduces the effort to release new database versions. While taking a current build of the Master branch for a spin, I was trying to use Futon only to discover that it wasn’t ready for the changes made in 2.0. After some discussion on IRC, I learned that it would be replaced with Faxuton. Once I left Futon behind, and used the command line I was up and running. In the end, it was much easier to work from the command line than trying to work with an outdated tool that was hurting more than helping. This is not to say that Futon, and Faxuton aren’t great tools, but they add additional complexity, and development effort outside the core objective of a database. Having a minimal database core also allows administrators to have a reduced burden when it comes to system administration because there are fewer system dependencies to update, manage, and distribute. On small systems it isn’t as big deal, but the larger systems become, the harder they are to manage. Additionally, having to interact with a UI makes it harder to setup a cluster with deployment tools like Chef, etc. CoreOS, really highlights the need to reduce the administrative burden when managing large systems. Here is a video that illistrates why/how CoreOS has striped down everthing but what is needed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeICd9XyXfY). While not exactly relevant, it does convey the general idea. It could be called CoreCouch, CouchCore, or … :) Thanks! --Nick
