Apache Project Maturity Model Assessment for DataSketches (DRAFT)

Overview

This is an assessment of the DataSketches podling’s maturity, meant to help inform the decision (of the mentors, community, Incubator PMC and ASF Board of Directors) to graduate it as a top-level Apache project.

It is based on the ASF project maturity model at https://community.apache.org/apache-way/apache-project-maturity-model.html.

Status of this document

There is a parallel [DISCUSS] DataSketches Maturity on the dev@datasketches.apache.org mail list to enable discussion of any issues. If there is disagreement on an issue, it will be marked here as under discussion.

Code

CD10

The project produces Open Source software, for distribution to the public at no charge.

Yes.

CD20

The project’s code is easily discoverable and publicly accessible.

Yes.

CD30

The code can be built in a reproducible way using widely available standard tools.

Yes.

  • See the README document on each of the projects repositories1. For Example..

CD40

The full history of the project’s code is available via a source code control system, in a way that allows any released version to be recreated.

Yes.

  • We use Git/GitHub for source code, documents, and the website.
  • For all the Apache DataSketches repositories subject to being released1, releases are cut from the respective repository.
  • All releases are tagged and in separate, easy-to-locate branches.

CD50

The provenance of each line of code is established via the source code control system, in a reliable way based on strong authentication of the committer. When third-party contributions are committed, commit messages provide reliable information about the code provenance.

Yes.

  • The project uses Apache managed GitHub repositories, ensuring provenance of each line of code to a committer.
  • Third party contributions are accepted in accordance with the Apache Third-Party Licensing Policy only.

LC10

The code is released under the Apache License, version 2.0.

Yes.

LC20

Libraries that are mandatory dependencies of the project’s code do not create more restrictions than the Apache License does.

Yes.

  • All code dependencies have been reviewed to contain approved licenses only.

LC30

The libraries mentioned in LC20 are available as Open Source software.

Yes.

  • The references to the open-source libraries mentioned in LC20 can be found in the LICENSE file on each of the repositories subject to release1.

LC40

Committers are bound by an Individual Contributor Agreement (the Apache ICLA) that defines which code they are allowed to commit and how they need to identify code that is not their own.

Yes.

  • The project uses GitHub repositories managed by Apache where write access requires an Apache account and an ICLA on file.

LC50

The copyright ownership of everything that the project produces is clearly defined and documented.

  • All files in the source repository have appropriate headers (See LC10).
  • Software Grant Agreements for the initial donations and Corporate CLAs have been filed.

Releases

RE10

Releases consist of source code, distributed using standard and open archive formats that are expected to stay readable in the long term.

Yes.

RE20

Releases are approved by the project’s PMC (see CS10), in order to make them an act of the Foundation.

Yes.

  • All incubating releases have been approved by the DataSketches community, PPMC, and the IPMC, all with at least 3 IPMC votes.

RE30

Releases are signed and/or distributed along with digests that can be reliably used to validate the downloaded archives.

Yes.

RE40

Convenience binaries can be distributed alongside source code but they are not Apache Releases – they are just a convenience provided with no guarantee.

Yes.

  • We distribute Java jar file bundles via Nexus Repository Manager. These jar files include source jars as well as compiled binaries of the source code.
  • However, we discovered that we need to have a copy of these jar files also on dist.apache.org. This was an oversight. This has now been corrected on dist.apache.org for all current DataSketches releases where applicable as follows:
    • datasketches-java 1.3.0-incubating
    • datasketches-hive 1.1.0-incubating
    • datasketches-pig 1.0.0-incubating
    • datasketches-memory 1.2.0-incubating
  • This will also be corrected for all new releases going forward.
  • In the future, we may have needs for distributions through other venues, e.g., pgxn.org, pypi, and docker; some of these may be binaries. Any such external distributions will have copies on dist.apache.org.

RE50

The release process is documented and repeatable to the extent that someone new to the project is able to independently generate the complete set of artifacts required for a release.

Yes.

  • All committers have access to detailed release scripts.
  • As of October 24, 2020, we have successfully completed 17 Apache releases since the start of our incubation.
  • We have 3 committers that have qualified to be release managers and have successfully performed releases.

Quality

QU10

The project is open and honest about the quality of its code. Various levels of quality and maturity for various modules are natural and acceptable as long as they are clearly communicated.

Yes.

  • Bugs, various deficiencies and documentation problems come to us from many different sources. Once these bugs are made known to us we record them using the GitHub issues lists of the relevant repository1.

QU20

The project puts a very high priority on producing secure software.

Yes.

  • Security issues will be treated with the highest priority.
  • We will follow the guidelines proposed by CVE Documents and Guidance should these issues arise.

QU30

The project provides a well-documented, secure and private channel to report security issues, along with a documented way of responding to them.

Yes.

QU40

The project puts a high priority on backwards compatibility and aims to document any incompatible changes and provide tools and documentation to help users transition to new features.

Yes.

  • We define two types of backward compatibility, API, and Binary:
    • API: To the greatest extent possible we try to maintain compatiblity with older APIs. However, some API changes are inevitable. In these cases we deprecate the older API alongside the newer recommended API for at least one major release cycle, after which the older API may be removed. This is standard policy for most industry code bases.
    • Binary: Our current codebase is able to read and process older binary representations of our sketches since about 2014. This is extremely important for our users and is very high priority as our code evolves.

QU50

The project strives to respond to documented bug reports in a timely manner.

Yes.

  • We respond very quickly to bug and problem reports and have received excellent feedback from our users about our quick response.

Community

CO10

The project has a well-known homepage that points to all the information required to operate according to this maturity model.

Yes.

CO20

The community welcomes contributions from anyone who acts in good faith and in a respectful manner and adds value to the project.

Yes.

CO30

Contributions include not only source code, but also documentation, constructive bug reports, constructive discussions, marketing and generally anything that adds value to the project.

Yes.

CO40

The community strives to be meritocratic and over time aims to give more rights and responsibilities to contributors who add value to the project.

Yes.

  • We have elected three new committers and have more on the way. All of these are and will be meritocracy based.

CO50

The way in which contributors can be granted more rights such as commit access or decision power is clearly documented and is the same for all contributors.

Yes.

CO60

The community operates based on consensus of its members (see CS10) who have decision power. Dictators, benevolent or not, are not welcome in Apache projects.

Yes.

  • We work hard to build consensus.

CO70

The project strives to answer user questions in a timely manner.

Yes.

  • We typically respond to issues within a few hours. These issues come to our attention through many different channels including our dev@datasketches.apache.org, users@datasketches.apache.org, and GitHub issues lists as well as the Apache Slack channels.

Consensus Building

CS10

The project maintains a public list of its contributors who have decision power – the project’s PMC (Project Management Committee) consists of those contributors.

Yes.

CS20

Decisions are made by consensus among PMC members and are documented on the project’s main communications channel. Community opinions are taken into account but the PMC has the final word, if needed.

Yes.

CS30

Documented voting rules are used to build consensus when discussion is not sufficient.

Yes.

  • The project uses the standard ASF voting rules. Voting rules are clearly stated before the voting starts for each individual vote.

CS40

In Apache projects, vetoes are only valid for code commits and are justified by a technical explanation, as per the Apache voting rules defined in CS30.

Yes.

  • We have had only one instance of a “-1” vote from a PPMC member on a code release. The issue was fixed and resubmitted. We support this policy.

CS50

All “important” discussions happen asynchronously in written form on the project’s main communications channel. Offline, face-to-face or private discussions that affect the project are also documented on that channel.

Yes.

  • The project has been making important decisions on the project mailing lists. Minor decisions may occasionally happen during code reviews, which are also asynchronous and in written form. Any synchronous discussions that result in major decisions for the project are documented on our project dev@datasketches.apache.org mailing list.

Independence

IN10

The project is independent from any corporate or organizational influence.

Yes.

  • Our project has committers and contributors from Yahoo, Inc.; Hypercube, Inc.; Permutive, Inc. UK; Tableau (Salesforce, Inc.); Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; Warwick University, UK; UC Berkeley; Apache Druid, and other researchers and engineers from around the world.

IN20

Contributors act as themselves as opposed to representatives of a corporation or organization.

Yes.

  • The committers and contributors act on their own initiative without representing a corporation or organization.

1 List of Source Repositories that have Apache Releases: