What is the Apache Software Foundation?
The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is currently one of the world’s largest open-source software organizations, composed of developers from around the globe. The software under its umbrella follows the Apache License , and it has fostered many well-known projects such as Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, and Flink.
Roles in ASF Projects
According to the official website , each Apache project typically has the following roles:
- User: Uses the project’s software but does not participate in development.
- Developer (Contributor): Participates in project development but does not have write access to the repository.
- Committer: After making significant contributions, the PMCs may nominate you as a Committer, granting write access to the repository. If you don’t already have an Apache email, you’ll get one. For example, my email is [email protected] .
- PMC Member: After more prolonged involvement, you may be nominated as a PMC Member, having the power to decide the project’s long-term direction, nominate active contributors as Committers, and vote on formal releases.
- PMC Chair: The PMC Chair is the leader among PMC Members, responsible for communicating with the board and additional duties.
- ASF Member: After becoming a PMC Member for multiple projects, you may be nominated as an ASF Member, with the right to elect and be elected to the board and incubate new projects.
What is Apache CommunityOverCode?
Apache CommunityOverCode, formerly known as ApacheCon, is an annual open-source software conference organized by the Apache Software Foundation, held in Asia, Europe, and North America. It was renamed to emphasize that “ a healthy community is a higher priority than good code .”
Why Attend Apache CommunityOverCode In-Person Instead of Online?
There are several obvious reasons for attending in person:
- Networking: Attending in person allows you to make more friends, meet speakers, build connections, and aid in career development.
- Atmosphere: Experience the vibe of an international software conference firsthand.
- Opportunity to Ask Questions: You have the chance to ask questions and discuss with speakers in person, which is not possible with online participation.
- Sightseeing: Attend the conference while also visiting local tourist attractions.
- Meet Online Friends: Meet in person those you have collaborated with on open-source projects but have never met due to geographical reasons.
How to Attend Apache CommunityOverCode In-Person?
Basically, there are three ways: buying a ticket, registering as a speaker, or applying to be a volunteer. Below is the registration page.
- Buying a ticket: Regular registration requires a fee. If you are a Committer (with an Apache email), you can get a discount. Additionally, students and unemployed individuals can apply for free tickets.
- Registering as a speaker: If accepted, you can get a free speaker ticket. Speakers can also give complimentary tickets to friends and family, allowing them to attend for free.
- Applying to be a volunteer: The Apache Travel Assistance Committee (TAC) is a committee that helps those who want to attend Apache events but are financially constrained. You can apply to be a volunteer on their website. Note that you don’t need to be a Committer to apply! Committers can log in directly with their Apache email, while non-Committers can register for an account. Based on the experience from some friends of mine, Gmail sometimes fails to receive the email, while Outlook is more reliable. If you don’t receive an email, try another email service. Once approved, TAC will cover your airfare, accommodation, and conference tickets, saving a lot of expenses.
My Thoughts on Some Keynotes
The sessions were divided into two parts: Keynotes and Guest Speakers. Keynotes usually cover broad topics aligning with the conference theme and arouse general interest. Guest Speakers are community members who submit topics for in-depth introduction and discussion of specific projects or fields. Keynotes are held in the main conference room in the morning, while Guest Speakers are spread across various rooms in the afternoon, allowing attendees to choose topics of interest.
Keynotes usually feature one or two speakers discussing a topic, but there are also unique formats like roundtable discussions with 4-5 people chatting on stage about a topic, and Lightning Talks where each person speaks on a topic for 5 minutes.
Below is the schedule for the first day of the conference, to give you a sense of the event. To avoid taking up too much space, the schedules for the second and third days are not included in detail.
Opportunities and Challenges of Globalization - Xu Wang, Junping Du, William Guo, Zili Chen
This roundtable discussion addressed many issues related to open-source and globalization, which I found particularly interesting.
Language Contradictions in Localizing and Globalizing Open-Source Communities
One point discussed was the language issue in open-source communities. To internationalize, English documentation is necessary; otherwise, contributors would be limited to local sources. However, if the target market is local, local language documentation is needed to compete with other products that have local language documentation. Maintaining multi-language documentation is challenging because not all developers are proficient in multiple languages. When a passage needs modification, multiple documents need updates, leading to inconsistent information. Therefore, if internationalization is required, it’s usually best to maintain a single English document.
Regional Preferences Hindering Project Promotion
Another issue is Product Market Fit (PMF). A project popular in one region may struggle to gain traction in another due to different user habits. One speaker mentioned a project using drag-and-drop no-code workflows that was popular in Asia but struggled in Western markets where users preferred coding workflows, making promotion difficult.
Cultural Differences Affecting Development Atmosphere and Values
Another interesting topic was the development atmosphere in different regions. A speaker noted that Western developers are accustomed to communication via email with responses taking over a day, while Chinese developers expect replies within minutes due to a more competitive atmosphere. This difference may require using different communication tools for various markets, increasing the maintenance burden. One speaker noted that short-term slowness does not mean long-term slowness, as it allows developers to carefully review code quality, reducing future problems. Furthermore, doing things slowly does not mean overall progress will be slow, as many features can be developed simultaneously by many companies, leading to rapid overall progress.
Open Source: How We Got Here, Where We’re Going - Bruce Perens
This speaker is the primary author of the Open Source Definition, which is now case law, with a US court enforcing that software should not be called Open Source if it doesn’t meet the definition. He is also the author of BusyBox and the second Debian project leader.
History and Current Challenges of Open Source
The speaker first discussed the history of open source and then addressed current challenges. Many major companies use various open-source projects without paying the maintainers, who often work voluntarily. When maintainers cannot handle all tasks alone, they may grant permissions to other contributors, some of whom might have malicious intentions, leading to disasters like the xz backdoor incident . Another challenge is the abundance of open-source licenses, requiring companies to spend money ensuring compliance.
“Post-Open”: Ending Free Use by Major Companies
The speaker proposed a concept called “ Post-Open ,” where open-source software remains free for individuals and small companies, but companies with annual revenues exceeding five million dollars must pay the open-source community. The funds would be distributed based on developers’ contributions and the number of companies using the software.
My Thoughts on “Post-Open”
I believe the concept is a wonderful vision, motivating open-source project maintainers who cannot rely solely on voluntary work. Passion will eventually be exhausted, and almost everyone has experienced burnout before. I have immense respect for contributors to open-source projects. Although fulfilling this initiative will face many challenges, I believe the speaker can achieve this vision, just as he made open source a benchmark for U.S. courts.
Too Many Talks to Choose From? How to Select the Right Topic for You?
It may be hard to choose which talk to attend if this is your first time at such a conference, especially when you see so many guest speakers. I recommend you choose:
- Topics you are familiar with. For example, “The best practice of integration technology driven by event in cloud - Xiaohui Wu, Alan Liu” by RedHat engineers on Kubernetes and microservices was easy for me to understand due to my experience writing Kubernetes Operators in open-source projects.
- Non-technical talks like “Developing Soft Skills for a successful Open Source career - Sumaiya Nalukwago.” Non-technical topics do not require base knowledge, so almost all of them can be easily understood.
- Popular technical topics like “Navigating the Lakehouse with Confidence: Best Practices for Implementation with Apache - Bill Zhang” by Cloudera, discussing Apache Iceberg , can also be chosen to learn about the applications and trends of these popular topics.
Volunteer Experience
Welcome Dinner
On the day before the event started, the Travel Assistance Committee invited volunteers to a restaurant called “乾塘大院” for a welcome dinner. The evening was filled with lively conversations and a friendly atmosphere as volunteers from various backgrounds came together. It was interesting to meet people from different countries and learn about each other’s cultures, sharing stories and experiences. The dinner gave us a chance to make new friends and feel like part of a team. We talked about our work in open-source projects and shared our excitement for the upcoming conference. The evening helped us understand different cultures better and set a positive tone for the days ahead.
Volunteer Tasks
Volunteering was not very demanding. We only needed to sit at the Apache booth for a 2-hour shift over the 3 days. There were many stickers of different projects on the table, and we had to inform passersby that they could take the stickers freely. Initially, the stickers were scattered in a pile, but because I found it a bit boring to just sit there, I started organizing them.
Additionally, we were supposed to help at the registration desk for a day, but since there were already local staff members there, I didn’t have much to do.
Lastly, we needed to count the number of attendees at Guest Speaker sessions and report it to the conference to help them understand which topics were most attended. This was also an easy task.
Certificate
After the event, volunteers received a beautifully framed certificate. It was a nice gesture!
Conclusion
Participating in the Apache CommunityOverCode Asia 2024 was an incredible experience, and I highly recommend that everyone attend at least once!