I just came across this post on John O’Shea’s blog. I think it raises a very interesting point:
Unfortunately, Eclipse.org is also starting to exhibit similar cracks. A cursory look at the architectures of many of the top level projects (WTP, STP, TPTP, BIRT etc.) shows the lack of intra-project cooperation is resulting in frameworks that simply don’t integrate with one another in they ways we all want them to. I’m not sure whether the PMCs are responsible for this failure or if it is also the committer’s responsibility to “fit in” to the larger Eclipse eco-system better.
My sense is that this is an interesting dilemma for Eclipse. On one hand, some want Eclipse to be a highly integrated platform with a seamless experience across platforms, languages and lifecycle. (Callisto is a modest step in that direction.) On the other hand, as an open source community some focus on diversity and innovation and are uninterested in the heavy hand of centralized authority.
Sort of a Cathedral versus Bazaar dilemma.
So what do you think? Where do we need to find the balance within the Eclipse community?
Interestingly, Callisto is an example of where the Bazaar worked in interesting ways. The idea to do Callisto came from the projects themselves. It was not an idea that came from the Eclipse Foundation.
