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The Apache Software Foundation

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Apache Software Foundation
FoundedJune 1999; 25 years ago (1999-06)
FounderBrian Behlendorf, Ken Coar, Mark Cox, Lars Eilebrecht, Ralf S. Engelschall, Roy T. Fielding, Dean Gaudet, Ben Hyde, Jim Jagielski, Alexei Kosut, Martin Kraemer, Ben Laurie, Doug MacEachern, Aram Mirzadeh, Sameer Parekh, Cliff Skolnick, Marc Slemko, William (Bill) Stoddard, Paul Sutton, Randy Terbush, Dirk-Willem van Gulik
Type501(c)(3)
FocusOpen source software
Location
MethodApache License
Websitewww.apache.org

The Apache Software Foundation /əˈpætʃiː/ (ASF) is an American non-profit corporation (classified as 501(c)(3) in the United States) to support Apache software projects, including the Apache HTTP Server. The ASF was formed from the Apache Group and incorporated in Delaware, U.S., in June 1999.[1][2]

The Apache Software Foundation is a decentralized community of developers. The software they produce is distributed under the terms of the Apache License and is free and open source software (FOSS). The Apache projects are characterized by a collaborative, consensus-based development process and an open and pragmatic software license. Each project is managed by a self-selected team of technical experts who are active contributors to the project. The ASF is a meritocracy, implying that membership of the foundation is granted only to volunteers who have actively contributed to Apache projects. The ASF is considered a second generation[3] open-source organization, in that commercial support is provided without the risk of platform lock-in.

Among the ASF's objectives are: to provide legal protection[4] to volunteers working on Apache projects; to prevent the Apache brand name from being used by other organizations without permission.

The ASF also holds several ApacheCon[5] conferences each year, highlighting Apache projects, related technology, and encouraging Apache developers and users to gather together.

History

The history of the Apache Software Foundation is linked to the Apache HTTP Server, development beginning in February 1995. A group of eight developers started working on enhancing the NCSA HTTPd daemon. They came to be known as the Apache Group. On March 25, 1999, the Apache Software Foundation was formed.[1] The first official meeting of the Apache Software Foundation was held on April 13, 1999, and by general consent that the initial membership list of the Apache Software Foundation, would be: Brian Behlendorf, Ken Coar, Miguel Gonzales, Mark Cox, Lars Eilebrecht, Ralf S. Engelschall, Roy T. Fielding, Dean Gaudet, Ben Hyde, Jim Jagielski, Alexei Kosut, Martin Kraemer, Ben Laurie, Doug MacEachern, Aram Mirzadeh, Sameer Parekh, Cliff Skolnick, Marc Slemko, William (Bill) Stoddard, Paul Sutton, Randy Terbush and Dirk-Willem van Gulik.[6] After a series of additional meetings to elect board members and resolve other legal matters regarding incorporation, the effective incorporation date of the Apache Software Foundation was set to June 1, 1999.[2]

The name 'Apache' was chosen from respect for the Native American Apache Nation, well known for their superior skills in warfare strategy and their inexhaustible endurance. It also makes a pun on "a patchy web server"—a server made from a series of patches—but this was not its origin. The group of developers who released this new software soon started to call themselves the "Apache Group". [citation needed]

Projects

See also: List of Apache Software Foundation projects

Apache divides its software development activities into separate semi-autonomous areas called "top-level projects" (formally known as a "Project Management Committee" in the bylaws[7]), some of which have a number of sub-projects. Unlike some other organizations that host FOSS projects, before a project is hosted at Apache it has to be licensed to the ASF with a grant or contributor agreement.[8] In this way, the ASF gains the necessary intellectual property rights for the development and distribution of all its projects.[9]

Board of directors

The ASF board of directors has responsibility for overseeing the ASF's activities and acting as a central point of contact and communication for its projects. The board assigns corporate issues, assigning resources to projects, and manages corporate services, including funds and legal issues. It does not make technical decisions about individual projects; these are made by the individual Project Management Committees. The board is elected annually by members of the foundation and, after the March 2016 Annual Members Meeting, it consists of:[10][11][12]

Financials

In the 2010–11 fiscal year, the Foundation took in $539,410, almost entirely from grants and contributions with $12,349 from two ApacheCons. With no employees and 2,663 volunteers, it spent $270,846 on infrastructure, $92,364 on public relations, and $17,891 on two ApacheCons.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Fielding, Roy T. "Certificate of Incorporation of the Apache Software Foundation". Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Jagielski, Jim. "The Apache Software Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Minutes 01 June 1999". Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  3. ^ François Letellier, see 'Third Generation Open Source'
  4. ^ See the Volunteer Protection Act article.
  5. ^ "apachecon.com". apachecon.com. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  6. ^ Hyde, Ben. "The Apache Software Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Minutes 13 April 1999". Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  7. ^ "Bylaws of The Apache Software Foundation". Apache Software Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Licenses". Apache Software Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ St. Amant, Kirk; Brian Still (2007). Handbook of research on open source software: technological, economic, and social perspectives. Idea Group Inc (IGI). pp. 217–219. ISBN 978-1-59140-999-1.
  10. ^ Weber, Steve (2004). The success of open source. Harvard University Press. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-674-01292-9.
  11. ^ "Board of Directors". Apache Software Foundation. 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  12. ^ "How the ASF works". Apache Software Foundation. 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Apache Software Foundation IRS Form 990 for 2010" (PDF). 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2013-02-20.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Apache Software Foundation.
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