On The Margins

Tuesday March 17, 2009

[ Code ] New Sun Contributor Signatories for MySQL

I just checked the "Sun Contributor Agreement" (SCA) signatories list, and there are already 11 people who have signed the contributor agreement with an intent to contribute to MySQL.

Among the signatories, you will also notice Paul McCullagh of PrimeBase/PBXT fame. (To learn about how to submit your SCA paperwork, see here.)

Signing the SCA with an intent to contribute to any given Sun-sponsored open-source project would also suffice when it comes to contributing to any other Sun-sponsored open-source project.

So, as an example, Nils Goroll is both an OpenSolaris and MySQL contributor. (See Nils' OpenSolaris profile and see MySQL bug id 7417.)

Of course, it goes without saying that you do not need to be an OpenSolaris contributor to be a MySQL contributor. My intent here was simply to show how signing the SCA helps the contributor to reach out, interact and contribute w.r.t. any Sun-sponsored projects. The SCA signatories list, of course, makes all of this much more plain.

2009-03-17 23:01:36.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Saturday February 14, 2009

[ Code ] Contributing Code to MySQL -- Some Simple Guidelines

If you would like to contribute to MySQL development, you can read the relevant top-level page on the MySQL Forge.

This page has some useful links to various forms of contributing to MySQL, including contribution of code to MySQL. (The MySQL|Sun team have recently simplified some of these pages in order to make them more useful to community members and potential contributors.)

Note that after some simple paperwork submitted to Sun ("Sun Contributor Agreement" or "SCA"), any signatory can contribute to any Sun-sponsored open-source project, including to MySQL.

It is a common parctice to require initial paperwork to clarify rights to the contributed work. This practice is also used by other open-source communities such as the Apache Software Foundation.

It is worth quoting, from the the master document, that

As we gain more experience, absorb more contributions and receive feedback from the contributors, please expect some modifications to the contribution system described here.

2009-02-14 01:43:00.0 -- Comments [2] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
code community databases development mysql open-source software sun technology

Monday September 29, 2008

[ Networks ] Student Central -- A Sun for Students

If you are a student and want to learn more about Sun, the place to go is Student Central. According to marketing program manager, Colin Cupp,

This is the perfect starting point to find out just what Sun, as a company, has to offer students today.  Covering everything from technology to Eco-responsibility, jobs to social media, this is the first student page that tells the Sun story from a student perspective.  Come by and check it out, but be sure to come back as this page will evolve along with Sun's student offerings!

I took a peek and I agree with him. 

Years ago, when I first joined Sun, I had advocated for audience-based web pages, and now we are seeing that happen more often.

It is truly wonderful!

2008-09-29 15:35:06.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
business students sun technical

Tuesday August 05, 2008

[ Technology ] LinuxWorld Expo?

I dropped by "LinuxWorld Expo" in San Francisco on Tuesday, and I think the only thing worth noting is the PgDay.

Five years ago, when I attended the same Expo, it had a completely different spirit, with a lot more participation by the main Linux vendors and a large variety of software companies.

(Other references: PostgreSQL on Solaris and on OpenSolaris.) 

2008-08-05 23:14:32.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases hardware open-source opensolaris operating-systems postgresql software solaris sun technology

Thursday July 24, 2008

[ Media ] OSCon Presentations

Until O'Reilly gets the slides for OSCon 2008 posted, you can find some of the slide-sets and more at SlideShare.

Sun Microsystems was a platinum sponsor of the conference and had some free, slickly-published guerrilla booklets on operating systems and OpenSolaris, and several un-conference presentations at their booth, including some amazing presentations on DTrace and ZFS. I was also happy to hear the Erleng packages will be available directly as an OpenSolaris IPS.

All this, until O'Reilly posts the presentation for public viewing.

2008-07-24 15:08:21.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
community open-source opensolaris software source sun technology zfs

Thursday May 08, 2008

[ Sun Microsystems Inc. ] Who Dons the Java DB T-Shirt

Giuseppe Maxia took this picture at JavaOne, 2008, just a couple of days ago. It shows Marten Mickos (MySQL) donning the Java DB T-Shirt and giving a friendly hug to PostgreSQL evangelist Josh Berkus. That's how the story of the three open-source databases from Sun will keep unfolding. Many observers have noted that customers and developers will have great choices to work with: the premier open-source DB for web applications, the premier open-source DB for demanding enterprise and reporting applications, and the premier open-source DB for embedding in Java applications. All from the same company. Sun!

2008-05-08 23:41:34.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases javadb javaone mysql postgresql sun

Friday April 25, 2008

[ Technology ] Tolven Health PostgreSQL Benchmark

Tolven Health has published a benchmarking study with PostgreSQL on Solaris. The purpose of the study was to "to assess the scalability and performance characteristics of the Tolven open source healthcare information technology solution and to provide guidance for customers with regards to hardware requirements for enterprise, state, regional, and country wide deployments."

2008-04-25 16:38:35.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Sunday April 13, 2008

[ Technology ] Community Dinner

Giuseppe Maxia blogs about the MySQL community dinner with some special guests in attendance.

2008-04-13 23:59:39.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Tuesday April 08, 2008

[ Business ] Open Source Databases on the Rise

Christopher Lawton of The Wall Street Journal reports on the rise of the open source databases: The potential benefits in cost and flexibility have not been lost on customers. The market for open-source databases is expected to grow 35% to $270 million this year from $200 million in 2007, according to Gartner Inc. Among the earliest adopters are midsized companies, which don't always need the high-end features of conventional databases, says Carl Olofson, analyst with IDC, a market-research firm. For example, Sun Microsystems Inc. provides supported offerings of MySQL, PostgreSQL and Java DB (Apache / Derby) to its customers. If you're interested in discussion and community around open source database technologies for Solaris, see here.

2008-04-08 19:15:34.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Thursday March 20, 2008

[ Sun Microsystems Inc. ] OSDB Events

The best way to learn about major open source databases (e.g. MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.) is to attend developer and user conferences. Sun Microsystems sponsors many of these conferences and events. (This April, you can catch Sun folks attending the MySQL conference in Santa Clara, and in May, you can catch them at PGCon in Ottawa.) Finally, if you're interested in Sun technologies and databases, you should become a member of the OpenSolaris Databases Community and start contributing.

2008-03-20 01:06:17.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Wednesday January 30, 2008

[ Technology ] Buying PostgreSQL support got easier

Buying support for PostgreSQL on Solaris has become much easier.

Just click "Buy Now" on the PostgreSQL support page and you'll be on your way.

2008-01-30 17:59:51.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases enterprise opensource postgresql server software sun support technology

[ Technology ] Data History

I took this picture in 2006 near the Sun MPK Cafeteria. I find it historically interesting!

2008-01-30 15:59:07.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Friday January 18, 2008

[ Sun Microsystems Inc. ] James Gosling, Monty Widenius, David Axmark, and Brian Aker on Sun's Acquisition of MySQL

2008-01-18 13:57:54.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases software sun technology

Wednesday January 16, 2008

[ Sun Microsystems Inc. ] Sun To Acquire MySQL

Sun has announced an agreement to acquire MySQL. (Reports can also be found at WSJ and Reuters.)  Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's CEO, discusses the acquisition on his blog. Kaj Arno, VP of community for MySQL, has also discussed the acquisition form MySQL perspective.

2008-01-16 07:06:08.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases mysql software sun technology

Wednesday November 21, 2007

[ Technology ] Blogging from Berkeley

Blogging from Berkeley, David Van Couvering, a database technologist at Sun Microsystems, has recently written some pieces examining PostgreSQL on Solaris. (I certainly look forward to even more such pieces, or maybe some pieces on migration from Oracle or MySQL. I think there are some interesting topics to explore in those areas when it comes to tooling.)

For example, take a look at his posts on "NetBeans, Ruby on Rails, and PostgreSQL on Solaris"and on "Starting PostgreSQL as a service in Solaris Express ."
 

2007-11-21 12:43:20.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
databases jruby netbeans postgresql ruby solaris sun technology

Sunday November 11, 2007

[ Networks ] Same Desktop Everywhere -- From the San Francisco Bay Area to Bangalore

I'm working on the same desktop I used last week in the Bay Area, now on a "SunRay 170" here in Sun's Bangalore drop-in center. (Later models of Sun Ray client are also available—a great tool for all global corporations.)

Now, I should wonder why I lugged my laptop across the globe?

2007-11-11 21:15:56.0 -- Comments [2] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Tuesday November 06, 2007

[ Technology ] Acting Talent

Observe that acting and dancing talent can spring up almost anywhere ...
 

2007-11-06 15:10:04.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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Thursday October 18, 2007

[ Technology ] Where is this?

Where is this?

2007-10-18 09:58:14.0 -- Comments [2] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
computing hpc servers sun

Monday October 08, 2007

[ Technology ] Shoal Beyond Glassfish V2

I've already written about the early days of what became Shoal, and you've probably already seen the good news of Shoal shipping with Glassfish V2 and about how it provides dynamic clustering and in-memory replication (see the Aquarium).

Here, I simply want to point to this great summary by Mohamed Abdelaziz of Shoal development activities one can eagerly anticipate and drive.

It is great to see Shoal move forward with such great force and verve.

2007-10-08 14:05:28.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
availability fault-tolerance glassfish sun technology

[ Sun Microsystems Inc. ] Another Mode

Check out Thorleif Wiik's blog for another mode of going!

2007-10-08 13:05:26.0 -- Comments [1] ; Permalink ; Trackback.
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