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Adam Retter
adam@evolvedbinary.com
Declarative Amsterdam @ CWI
2019-10-04
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@adamretter
Are we still
Open Source?
Dilemmas for a new XML Database
About Me
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Developer / Consultant
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XQuery / XSLT / Schema / RelaxNG
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Scala / Java / C++
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Concurrency and Scalability
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Creator of FusionDB multi-model database (4 yrs.)
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Contributor to Facebook's RocksDB (4 yrs.)
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Core contributor to eXist-db XML Database (14 yrs.)
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Founder of EXQuery, and creator of RESTXQ
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W3C XQuery WG Invited expert
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6607296/eXist-book-logo-red.jpg)
2014: Why create a new XML db?
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Personal Concerns
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Open Source NXDs problems/limitations are not being addresed
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Commercial NXDs are Expensive and not Open Source
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New NoSQL (JSON) document db are out-innovating us
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10 Years invested in Open Source NXD, unhappy with progress
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Commercial Concerns from Customers
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Help! Our Open Source NXD sometimes:
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Crashes and Corrupts the database
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Stops responding
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Won't Scale with new servers/users
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![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
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Primary Focus on Correctness and Stability
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Never become unresponsive
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Never crash
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Never lose data or corrupt the database
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Don't reinvent wheels!
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Developers know eXist-db... Fork it!
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Reuse - adopt Facebook's RocksDB for storage
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Build it first!
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...Should become Open Source
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Should be appealing to Commercial enterprises
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Open Source license choice(s)
vs. Revenue opportunities
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![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
Time to build something
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ACID Transactions
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Improved Concurrency
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Instant Snapshots
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100% eXist-db API Compatible
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Drop-in replacement.
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Just restore your eXist-db backup!
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![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6233244/FusionDB_transparent.png)
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Crash Safe
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Multi-Model
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Metadata Storage
Releasing FusionDB
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We would like to Open Source it
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We don't want to: git-and-run
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Need a revenue model to ensure future
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Experienced in 2011: Support model is unsustainable
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Originally we envisaged...
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Dual License:
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AGPLv3 - Gives us our "Open Source" and Freedom
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Commercial License - Indemnity for companies that can't swallow AGPL
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Would like to avoid "Open Core"
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Things have changed...
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
Licensing Chaos!
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CockroachDB
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Switched core from Apache to BSL 1.1 (04/06/19)
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Enterprise components are Source Available
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Dgraph
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From Apache to AGPL (26/03/2017)
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... then to Apache + Commons Clause (03/04/18)
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... then back to Apache (11/10/18)
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Elastic
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Originally Apache licensed
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Elastic NV mixes Apache and Elastic Licence code in repository and builds (06/18)
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AWS (+Netflix +Expedia) launch "Open Distro for Elasticsearch" - Apache v2 - (11/03/19)
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![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
Licensing Chaos...
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InfluxDB
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Clustering - From MIT to Enterprise License (05/04/16)
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Kafka (Confluent)
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From Apache to Confuent Community License (14/12/2018)
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MariaDB
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MaxScale etc - From GPL to BSL 1.0 (16/08/2016)
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MongoDB
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From APGL to SSPL (06/10/2018)
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![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
Licensing Chaos...
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Neo4j (Enterprise)
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From Commercial/AGPL to Commercial/AGPL+Commons Clause (13/05/2018)
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... then to Neo4j Commercial License (15/11/2018)
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Redis (Modules)
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From AGPL to Apache + Commons Clause (22/08/2018)
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... then to Redis Source Available Licence (22/02/2019)
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NOTE: Core is still BSD. Redis Enterprise is entrierly proprietary
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RocksDB
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from BSD3 + Patent Grant, to dual Apache 2.0 or GPLv2 (16/07/17)
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Who is 100% Open Source?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328828/cockroach.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328830/dgraph.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328834/elastic.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328851/influx_logo.png)
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![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328862/neo4j_logo.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328864/redis.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328867/440px-Rocksdb-icon.svg.png)
100% Open Source
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328830/dgraph.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328867/440px-Rocksdb-icon.svg.png)
Wait... what happened?
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Vendors
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Trying to find a viable business model
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Several squarely blaming large Cloud Vendors
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Now misusing the label "Open Source"
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Cloud Vendors
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Blaming Open Source Vendors for Closing/Mixing Licenses
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AWS - You will be Assimilated!
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Google Cloud - Partnering with Open Source Vendors
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Users
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Where are they?
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How can they be heard?
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Vote with feet?
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The Brave New World?
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Open Source databases are dead?!?
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Commercially - Mostly
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Open Source License != Business Model
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Hobby/Non-Profit/Foundation - Nope!
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Commons Clause / Source Available
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Almost, but... Not Open Source!!!
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What are your rights?
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Open Core
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Open Source Core
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Closed or Source Available addons/features/management.
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Maybe you need these too?
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Community
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Open Source is only part of the picture
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Not everyone is a developer
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Is having the code enough?
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How do you support yourselves?
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Who owns the community?
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Is there a Gate Keeper?
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What happens if the code is forked?
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What happens if company X disappears?
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Community is Everything!
Are we Still Open Source?
Can we survive as Open Source?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6233248/FusionDB_transparent_no-text.png)
fusiondb.com
Are we still Open Source?
By Adam Retter
Are we still Open Source?
Talk given at Declarative Amsterdam - 4 October 2019 - CWI, Amsterdam
- 4,453