> How would you fund the open source development of a database?
I think the best way would be something similar to the Linux Foundation. Companies in need of a certain type of database would pool resources to develop and maintain it.
PostgreSQL was a community developed database that was funded in something approaching this way as most of the developers were either students or worked for someone who paid them while they worked on it.
> TiDB is Apache licensed, that should be enough no?
It's good enough to use it with the knowledge that it isn't truly free (libre) because the CLA gives the owning company the right to change that at any time. So you can use it but don't build a business around it or make it a critical part of your infrastructure as they might pull the rug out from under you.
> I think the best way would be something similar to the Linux Foundation. Companies in need of a certain type of database would pool resources to develop and maintain it.
Disclaimer: I currently work at PingCAP and previously worked at the Linux Foundation.
Foundation (whether it's the LF or others) isn't a panacea either. It's fine when projects get started and there are plenty of willing member companies, but for many projects, companies often lose interest, need to cut down on open source related investments, etc. and the project funding dwindles. The reality is that the member companies need to both fund and provide software developers for projects, and it's difficult to expect them to keep the same commitment for more than a few years these days....
Thanks for the info! I wasn't aware of this and didn't see any mention of this in their github docs. It means that at least you can use that part of the project without worry. They should promote this aspect of the project more prominently. It should be of great interest to anyone thinking about adopting the technology.
Do you have any links to the Core Storage CNCF project? I couldn't find it on the CNCF website under the Database and Cloud Native Storage sections?
I think the best way would be something similar to the Linux Foundation. Companies in need of a certain type of database would pool resources to develop and maintain it.
PostgreSQL was a community developed database that was funded in something approaching this way as most of the developers were either students or worked for someone who paid them while they worked on it.
> TiDB is Apache licensed, that should be enough no?
It's good enough to use it with the knowledge that it isn't truly free (libre) because the CLA gives the owning company the right to change that at any time. So you can use it but don't build a business around it or make it a critical part of your infrastructure as they might pull the rug out from under you.