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.
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.
The project produces Open Source software, for distribution to the public at no charge.
The project's code is easily discoverable and publicly accessible.
The code can be built in a reproducible way using widely available standard tools.
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.
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.
The code is released under the Apache License, version 2.0.
Libraries that are mandatory dependencies of the project's code do not create more restrictions than the Apache License does.
The libraries mentioned in LC20 are available as Open Source software.
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.
The copyright ownership of everything that the project produces is clearly defined and documented.
Releases consist of source code, distributed using standard and open archive formats that are expected to stay readable in the long term.
Releases are approved by the project's PMC (see CS10), in order to make them an act of the Foundation.
Releases are signed and/or distributed along with digests that can be reliably used to validate the downloaded archives.
Convenience binaries can be distributed alongside source code but they are not Apache Releases -- they are just a convenience provided with no guarantee.
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.
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.
The project puts a very high priority on producing secure software.
The project provides a well-documented, secure and private channel to report security issues, along with a documented way of responding to them.
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.
The project strives to respond to documented bug reports in a timely manner.
The project has a well-known homepage that points to all the information required to operate according to this maturity model.
The community welcomes contributions from anyone who acts in good faith and in a respectful manner and adds value to the project.
Contributions include not only source code, but also documentation, constructive bug reports, constructive discussions, marketing and generally anything that adds value to the project.
The community strives to be meritocratic and over time aims to give more rights and responsibilities to contributors who add value to the project.
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.
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.
The project strives to answer user questions in a timely manner.
The project maintains a public list of its contributors who have decision power -- the project's PMC (Project Management Committee) consists of those contributors.
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.
Documented voting rules are used to build consensus when discussion is not sufficient.
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.
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.
The project is independent from any corporate or organizational influence.
Contributors act as themselves as opposed to representatives of a corporation or organization.
1 List of Source Repositories that have Apache Releases: