I got heads up about yesterday's announcement of the ICEfaces 1.6 release and thought it was interesting not just from a pure technology perspective (Ajax, Java EE, Web 2.0) but as a representation of the trend of what can be labeled organic integration. In this case, like others, there is a discernable overlap between the focus and direction of the technologies involved. Yet this isn't the only angle, what actually intrigues me most is the role that the open source development model plays in driving and enabling the integration both at a conceptual and technical level.
Open source is proving to be a common element capable of pulling ecosystems together into the kind of mutually beneficially, symbiotic relationships which can complement the strengths and weaknesses of each participant. If you look at what ICEfaces and JBoss Seam each gained from the integration, it shouldn't be that difficult to determine what one adds to the other. ICEfaces as an Ajax framework can't/doesn't exist as a standalone entity, it needs a runtime environment. On the other hand, JBoss Seam finds itself in the early stages of establishing itself as a Web 2.0 application framework that is as ready for general use as its application server cousin, and by embracing integration between ICEfaces 1.6.0 and its 1.2.1 GA release it is able to basically provide certification for an Ajax development environment without having to assemble one from scratch. From the press release:
"[T]he newest release of ICEsoft¹s flagship Ajax development environment. Among its other improvements, ICEfaces 1.6.0 offers complete integration with JBoss Seam 1.2.1 GA, ensuring fast, efficient creation of Web 2.0 applications featuring the benefits of Ajax and other next-generation Web technologies."
Is it a coincidence that both efforts happen to be open source? No. Are there notable commercial alternatives to both ICEfaces and JBoss Seam which could have been chosen by either side as a target for integration? Of course, but a key point is that it wouldn't have gone as smoothly with a proprietary component. Take a peek at the JBoss-Exadel partnership, where Exadel went open source (after having been fully closed) in order to better groove in the JBoss middleware solution stack.
So what is the meaning of organic integration? Basically, it can be defined as integration impelled from the bottom up, often happening as a result of real world application and/or use cases. Here, we have ICEfaces and Seam brought together based on the option to exchange/grow within a related sphere of influence, the need to fill gaps within individual offerings and made real through, and to the benefit of, the open source development model. No moneyed M&A, partnerships or otherwise had to be involved to get these two integrated. Only the actual execution with a focus on improving the prospects and opportunities for those involved was necessary.
The commercial enterprise's behind both ICEfaces and JBoss Seam (ICEsoft and Red Hat, respectively) are then able to extract value downstream from this organic integration in the same manner as they do with other aspects of the open source development model. So for companies who have hit their stride in terms of building a revenue stream based on this model, I see very little reason to neglect to consider doing the same.
Yet the context of what Eclipse has accomplished shouldn't be limited to the amplitude of the open source universe, but can be viewed as a portrait of massively distributed software development done correctly.
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