![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
Adam Retter
adam@evolvedbinary.com
Declarative Amsterdam @ CWI
2019-10-04
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/4584337/twitter-logo.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/4584338/gmail-logo.png)
@adamretter
Are we still
Open Source?
Dilemmas for a new XML Database
About Me
-
Developer / Consultant
-
XQuery / XSLT / Schema / RelaxNG
-
Scala / Java / C++
-
Concurrency and Scalability
-
-
Creator of FusionDB multi-model database (4 yrs.)
-
Contributor to Facebook's RocksDB (4 yrs.)
-
Core contributor to eXist-db XML Database (14 yrs.)
-
Founder of EXQuery, and creator of RESTXQ
-
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?
-
Personal Concerns
-
Open Source NXDs problems/limitations are not being addresed
-
Commercial NXDs are Expensive and not Open Source
-
New NoSQL (JSON) document db are out-innovating us
-
10 Years invested in Open Source NXD, unhappy with progress
-
-
Commercial Concerns from Customers
-
Help! Our Open Source NXD sometimes:
-
Crashes and Corrupts the database
-
Stops responding
-
Won't Scale with new servers/users
-
-
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
-
Primary Focus on Correctness and Stability
-
Never become unresponsive
-
Never crash
-
Never lose data or corrupt the database
-
-
Don't reinvent wheels!
-
Developers know eXist-db... Fork it!
-
Reuse - adopt Facebook's RocksDB for storage
-
-
Build it first!
-
...Should become Open Source
-
Should be appealing to Commercial enterprises
-
Open Source license choice(s)
vs. Revenue opportunities
-
![](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
-
ACID Transactions
-
Improved Concurrency
-
Instant Snapshots
-
100% eXist-db API Compatible
-
Drop-in replacement.
-
Just restore your eXist-db backup!
-
![](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)
-
Crash Safe
-
Multi-Model
-
Metadata Storage
Releasing FusionDB
-
We would like to Open Source it
-
We don't want to: git-and-run
-
Need a revenue model to ensure future
-
-
Experienced in 2011: Support model is unsustainable
-
Originally we envisaged...
-
Dual License:
-
AGPLv3 - Gives us our "Open Source" and Freedom
-
Commercial License - Indemnity for companies that can't swallow AGPL
-
-
Would like to avoid "Open Core"
-
-
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!
-
CockroachDB
-
Switched core from Apache to BSL 1.1 (04/06/19)
-
Enterprise components are Source Available
-
-
Dgraph
-
From Apache to AGPL (26/03/2017)
-
... then to Apache + Commons Clause (03/04/18)
-
... then back to Apache (11/10/18)
-
-
Elastic
-
Originally Apache licensed
-
Elastic NV mixes Apache and Elastic Licence code in repository and builds (06/18)
-
AWS (+Netflix +Expedia) launch "Open Distro for Elasticsearch" - Apache v2 - (11/03/19)
-
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
Licensing Chaos...
-
InfluxDB
-
Clustering - From MIT to Enterprise License (05/04/16)
-
-
Kafka (Confluent)
-
From Apache to Confuent Community License (14/12/2018)
-
-
MariaDB
-
MaxScale etc - From GPL to BSL 1.0 (16/08/2016)
-
-
MongoDB
-
From APGL to SSPL (06/10/2018)
-
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/1461650/Screen_Shot_2015-06-05_at_13.12.39.png)
Licensing Chaos...
-
Neo4j (Enterprise)
-
From Commercial/AGPL to Commercial/AGPL+Commons Clause (13/05/2018)
-
... then to Neo4j Commercial License (15/11/2018)
-
-
Redis (Modules)
-
From AGPL to Apache + Commons Clause (22/08/2018)
-
... then to Redis Source Available Licence (22/02/2019)
-
NOTE: Core is still BSD. Redis Enterprise is entrierly proprietary
-
-
RocksDB
-
from BSD3 + Patent Grant, to dual Apache 2.0 or GPLv2 (16/07/17)
-
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)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328854/confluent-logo-white-twitter.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328856/mariadb-logo-black-and-white.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/119594/images/6328859/4eae13c7686cb54d_256x256.png)
![](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?
-
Vendors
-
Trying to find a viable business model
-
Several squarely blaming large Cloud Vendors
-
Now misusing the label "Open Source"
-
-
Cloud Vendors
-
Blaming Open Source Vendors for Closing/Mixing Licenses
-
AWS - You will be Assimilated!
-
Google Cloud - Partnering with Open Source Vendors
-
-
Users
-
Where are they?
-
How can they be heard?
-
Vote with feet?
-
The Brave New World?
-
Open Source databases are dead?!?
-
Commercially - Mostly
-
Open Source License != Business Model
-
-
Hobby/Non-Profit/Foundation - Nope!
-
-
Commons Clause / Source Available
-
Almost, but... Not Open Source!!!
-
What are your rights?
-
-
Open Core
-
Open Source Core
-
Closed or Source Available addons/features/management.
-
Maybe you need these too?
-
-
Community
-
Open Source is only part of the picture
-
Not everyone is a developer
-
Is having the code enough?
-
How do you support yourselves?
-
-
Who owns the community?
-
Is there a Gate Keeper?
-
What happens if the code is forked?
-
What happens if company X disappears?
-
-
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
- 4,401