Learning from Rails

[Justin]

Sim's last post stating that it might just be better to ignore forking
Flex 4 in order to start working on Flex 5, and keeping in mind Tony's
advice to incorporate lessons from other languages, I thought that it
might be helpful to point out some of the changes Ruby on Rails has
made in its development and management (for those who don't work with
the language). Rails is open-source and openly forked on Github,
although the code is "owned" and controlled by a core group of
contributors. After a series of increasingly vitriolic disputes, a
number of Ruby developers left Rails to create a rival Web MVC
framework called Merb. Merb in many ways is the anti-Rails, and Rails
and Merb leaders frequently debated/attacked each other on their
blogs.

In a fairly shocking recent development, the Rails team has joined
with the Merb team in order to create the next version of Rails. Both
sides realized that there was common ground between the two frameworks
and that both would be served by merging their approaches.

The most interesting aspect of all of this (from a Flex standpoint) is
that a new group was formed to mediate between the core Rails owners
and the ocean of Rails developers. This group, called the Rails
Activists (http://rubyonrails.org/activists), is working "to empower
and support the worldwide network of Ruby on Rails users. [They] do
this by publicizing Rails, making adoption easier, and enhancing
developer support. " This SDK Community Committee could borrow from
this mission statement / approach for our own community.

Flex is obviously a unique creature, being open source but "owned" by
a corporation, but I thought this background might help!

[Simeon Bateman]

I have used Rails in my discussion about the solution to this problem
on several occasions because it parallels our problem so closely.

First off Rails is the main/only framework for web developers doing
ruby. Now that being said of course there are alternatives but the
number of people getting behind them is too tiny to count. Just like
in our world. Flex is top dog and although there are a few
alternatives no one is really a compteitor.

Rails is developed in large part by 37Signals. They started it, they
continue to lead most parts of it.

Rails is a monolithic do it my way framework. As soon as you deviate
from the path things get messy. I think Doug can attest to how closely
that mimics the behaviour of modifiing flex. I am sure I have heard
those words from his mouth.

Merb was a fork/new project that came about because some people
decided rails was just too big and messy to be the right way. So they
started off on a path that led to a more modular framework that
allowed the inclusion of multiple orm strategies as well as other
alternatives in other places in the framework. And now after a couple
years and some clear thinking by the rails team, Merb and Rails are
joining forces and coming back together.

And beyond that I love that use git, on github. Git being a
distributed solution anyone can fork it and do what they like with the
code. And as soon as the head maintainers start dropping the ball, a
new repo becomes the top pull location for the project. So not only
do we hold ourselves accountable the community can too. That may be
too much of a stretch for a lot of folks here yet, but you will come
around. Or I'll hit you with my truck.

So yes I think looking at rails in helping organize Flex or fork is a
great idea.

sim

[Tom Chiverton]

On the other hand, a formal long lasting fork is a major step, and not
one that should be taken lightly.

There is probably still time to convince Adobe that FxButton should fx off :-)

And, yes, there is the wider goal of trying to make sure that things
are different in future.
--
Tom