Wilmington, DE, March 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Apache Software Foundation (ASF), the all-volunteer developers, stewards, and incubators of more than 320 active open source projects and initiatives, today proudly celebrates its 25th anniversary. The ASF is launching a social media campaign to unite ASF projects and their communities in a celebratory showcase of software development and innovation spanning the foundation’s past and present. To participate, visit https://www.apache.org/asf25years/ and follow #ASF25years on X and LinkedIn.
The ASF is responsible for fueling $30 billion in software development (source: Valuating Code at The Apache Software Foundation, DinoSource). According to a Harvard Business School working paper, if open source software did not exist, firms would need to spend 3.5x more on software than they currently do.
Software The World Relies On
The ASF was founded with a mission to provide software for the public good. For 25 years the foundation has delivered reliable software that fuels innovation and powers organizations of all sizes – from small businesses to the most advanced data-driven enterprises. From the flagship Apache HTTP project to more recent projects spanning AI/ML, big data, cloud computing, financial tech, geospatial, IoT, search, and more – ASF projects serve the public good with use cases such as fueling cancer research; aiding in clean energy research; and reducing food waste.
Recent projects that have had a major release include: Apache Cassandra, Apache Kafka, Apache Lucene and Apache Spark.
Read The ASF Project Spotlight Series or tune into the Voice of Apache podcast.
Communities That Endure
Open source projects need healthy communities to thrive. The ASF provides projects with services and mentorship for building resilient and durable communities throughout their lifecycle. New projects start in the Apache Incubator and graduate once they’ve met certain criteria. Recently graduated projects include Apache EventMesh, Apache Flagon, Apache Kvrocks, Apache OpenDAL and Apache SeaTunnel – and there are 30 projects currently in the Incubator.
If a project is no longer being supported by an active community, it’s retired to the Apache Attic for preservation including code, mailing lists, and all other project communications in the event that those artifacts become useful again in the future. Recent projects that entered the Attic include: Apache OODT, Apache Giraph, Apache MXNet, Apache Any23, and Apache jUDDI.
Everything Open, Everyone Welcome
The ASF aims to foster a welcome and open environment built on respect, empathy, openness, patience, candor, and dependability. According to the 2023 State of Diversity and Inclusion in the ASF Community report, people feel welcome and included and that they have an equal chance of getting their contributions accepted.
The ASF encourages and celebrates all contributions that have a positive impact on a project’s health and longevity including marketing, documentation, translations, mentorship, event participation, community management, and code and technical development. The ASF recognizes community members through it’s First Contribution Campaign that highlights any person’s first contribution to an ASF project such as:
Read more First ASF Contribution Campaign stories on the ASF blog.
This community-first mindset is also reflected in the recent renaming of the ASF’s flagship ApacheCon to Community Over Code. “Community Over Code” underscores the defining core value of The ASF: that an open source community is ultimately more vital to the longevity of a project than the code itself.
“The ASF exists to help build open source projects that can stand the test of time by focusing on community over code,” said David Nalley, Apache Software Foundation President. “With support from our volunteer board members, officers, and sponsors, we look forward to another 25 years of ASF’s work as a steward of open source software for the public good.”
In The ASF’s next 25 years, the foundation will continue to uphold the values of open source as demonstrated by efforts such as offering generative AI guidance, engaging in public policy efforts around the Cyber Resiliency Act (CRA) and the Product Liability Directive (PLD), and investing in open source software security issues such as the adoption of memory safe programming languages; reduction of vulnerabilities at scale; and strengthening the software supply chain.
Visit https://www.apache.org/asf25years/ or follow #ASF25years on X and LinkedIn to learn more about the history of software development within ASF projects and their communities.
Get Involved with ASF
About The Apache Software Foundation (ASF)
Founded in 1999, the Apache Software Foundation exists to provide software for the public good with support from more than 75 sponsors. ASF’s open source software is used ubiquitously around the world with more than 8,400 committers contributing to 320+ active projects including Apache Superset, Apache Camel, Apache Flink, Apache HTTP Server, Apache Kafka, and Apache Airflow. The Foundation’s open source projects and community practices are considered industry standards, including the widely adopted Apache License 2.0, the podling incubation process, and a consensus-driven decision model that enables projects to build strong communities and thrive. https://apache.org
ASF’s annual Community Over Code event is where open source technologists convene to share best practices and use cases, forge critical relationships, and learn about advancements in their field. https://communityovercode.org/
© The Apache Software Foundation. “Apache” is a registered trademark or trademark of the Apache Software Foundation in the United States and/or other countries. All other brands and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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