Hi Jörg, > Jörg Henne <j.he...@levigo.de> hat am 26. Juni 2017 um 15:36 geschrieben: > > > Hi all, > > > Apache PDFBox currently uses the JBig2 ImageIO-Plugin at > https://github.com/levigo/jbig2-imageio as an optional component and > recommends the use of it at https://pdfbox.apache.org/2.0/dependencies.html. > I am writing this as a representative of the ISV levigo, the owner and > publisher of this component. Besides being an open source component we use > the component on our own software suite. Over the years we have invested > significant time into it and have been maintaining it for many years so that > I would consider its code-base reasonably mature and stable. However, we > continue to address any bugs reported to us and have accepted several > community-provided fixes. > > > The plugin in question is currently licensed under the GNU General Public > License V3 with other licensing options available, including commercial > licensing. Having PDFBox under the ASL and the plugin under a different > license has long been a nuisance for PDFBox users which has deterred many > users fron using it. On the other hand, many users have a strong need for it > as our plugin is (IMHO) still the highest quality pure-Java open source > decoder available. > > We would like to change this situation by licensing the plugin under the ASL. > At the same time, however, we think that it would make sense to move the code > base over to a new home that makes it independent of a single vendor. That's > where the ASF and the PDFBox project comes into play :-) > This is good news and higly appreciated!
> We are currently in the very early stages of evaluating such a transition. A > few random thoughts: > > - All of those thoughts are subject to the PDFBox community being willing to > do this and accepting the contribution, obviously. > I can think about 2 possible new homes within the ASF, Apache PDFBox and Apache Commons. The first option might be the easier way if it comes to the "paperwork". > - One of the reasons for us to favor the ASF as a new home is that the ASF > has strong provisions in place to ensure that a project can thrive without it > being dependent on life-support by a single vendor. > +1 > - We need to do proper IP vetting: while the vast majority has been done by > levigo there is one other GitHub committer who has provided bug fixes and > whom we need to talk to. > Good catch, these are the important bits which have to be resolved first. After that you have to provide a Software Grant Agreement, see [1] for details, so that we can start the IP clearance process, see [2] and [3] > - Package names and maven coordinates will have to be updated to reflect the > transition +1 > - After a transition colleagues of mine would continue to contribute to the > maintenance of the component. The necessary committer rights would need to be > bestowed upon them. I myself have been an Apache committed for many years, > albeit almost completely inactive. > As an apache committer you might know that nobody can request committer rights but has to be voted in. But that is maybe just a formality. About how many devs are we talking here? > - It would make sense (and is required by the Apache rules) to have > additional know-how about the component outside of levigo. I don't know > whether there is enough interest in the PDFBox community to ensure this. > Yes, diversity is an important aspect. I'm pretty sure that the code will attract other (pdfbox) developers once it is under the apache umbrella. The imaging [4] devs might be interested in the code as well. > So that's it for now, I guess. Please let me know what you think. I support your plan to integrate the plugin with pdfbox. We, the PDFbox PMC, have to discuss that topic first and have to perform a vote, but I guess this is just a formality. Feel free to ask if there are any further questions. > Jörg Henne > <SNIP> Andreas [1] http://www.apache.org/licenses/ [2] http://incubator.apache.org/ip-clearance/pdfbox-padaf.html [3] https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/PDFBOX-1056 [4] http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-imaging/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscr...@pdfbox.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: dev-h...@pdfbox.apache.org