(0) rationale
The Web services project currently hosts product-based subprojects, each consisting of one major deliverable. Some of these products have many useful utilities, and also share a good bit of functionality without explicitly sharing code/APIs. Some of the subprojects are beginning to break these sharable pieces out so that they can be used independently. A Web Service "Commons" subproject is hereby proposed to accelerate and guide this process.
(1) scope of the subproject
The subproject shall create and maintain common utilities or building blocks ("components") written in the Java language, intended for use by one or more ws.apache.org projects. These components will be designed to be used independently of any larger product or framework, and will pertain directly to web services development. Each package will be managed in the same manner as a larger Web services product. To further this goal, the subproject shall also host a workplace for Web services committers and a master index of reusable packages related to Web services products.
(1.5) interaction with other subprojects
(1.5.1) the sandbox
The subproject will host a CVS repository available to all Apache committers as a workplace for new packages or other projects. Before release to the public, code or documentation developed here must be sponsored by a Web services subproject. The sponsoring subproject(s) will distribute the code or documentation along with the rest of their codebase.
(2) identify the initial source from which the subproject is to be populated
The initial packages would be based on existing ASF codebases, including those that provide services for WSDL, Schemas/XML Infoset. The initial committers will create, maintain the packages along with related testing suites and subproject infrastructure.
(3) identify the initial Web services resources to be created
(3.1) mailing list(s)
commons-dev
(3.2) CVS repositories
ws-commons
ws-commons-sandbox
(3.3) Bugzilla
program - commons
components - Web site
(4) identify the initial set of committers
Davanum Srinivas (dims@yahoo.com)
Aleksander Slominski (aslom@apache.org)
Ted Leung (twleung@sauria.com)
Chris Haddad (haddadc@apache.org)
Glen Daniels (gdaniels@apache.org)
Ias (iasandcb@tmax.co.kr)
(5) non-committers interested in participating
Mylene Reiners (m.reiners@chello.nl)
Dejan Bosanac (dejanb@datagate.co.yu)
Anil Saldhana(anilsaldhana@yahoo.com)
Werner Dittmann (Werner.Dittmann@siemens.com)