GeoTools 2024 Sponsorship Opportunities
The GeoTools project is asking for your financial assistance at this time.
GeoTools is a "Java GeoSpatial Toolkit" providing an open source (LGPL) library for developers of GIS applications and services. GeoTools is a recognized OSGeo project, managed by a steering committee with contributors worldwide.
GeoTools is looking at a significant challenges in 2024, with several sponsorship opportunities anticipated for key technical challenges.
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sphinx-build to mkdocs
Proposed activity to transitioned from reStructuredText to markdown. If sponsors are interested in this activity it would be a welcome change, it is a common request.
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Jira to GitHub issues
GeoTools has used Jira for many years, however maintaining an issue tracker separate from codebase makes the project harder to mange. If sponsors are interested in this activity it would be a welcome change, it is a common request.
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Java 17 LTS Build
Java 11 support was supposed to end on September 2024, but has now been delayed. Yet, Spring 6 (see later) will only support Java 17, so we are going to need a Java 17 environment anyways to support GeoServer evolution.
Deadline: December 2024
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Java Advanced Imaging -> ImageN transition
JAI was originally setup with the Java 2 plugin system. The plugin system was replaced with a module system in Java 9. With Java 17 further restrictions are in place restricting the use
javaxpackages by JAI.We prepared for this day, working with Oracle to donate the JAI codebase to the Eclispe Foundation as the ImageN project.
Deadline: October 2024
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We anticipate supporting downstream projects migrating to JakartaEE.
Spring 5.3 support ends December 2024, and with it spring-framework support for Java Enterprise Edition.
The JavaEE project was donated to the Eclipse Foundation as "Jakarta Enterprise Edition". Migrating to JakartaEE will likely obsolete a number of GeoTools dependencies requiring replacement or upgrade.
Deadline: December 2024
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We anticipate supporting downstream projects and service providers meet CRA reporting requirements.
Draft legislation identifies rapid disclosure and patching as two priorities that would impact GeoTools operation. Other requirements such as notification will require voluntary participation to remain informed.
Financing these activities is an important goal: the above topics are a lot of work, but do not pose a technical risk. GeoTools has an excellent track record of meeting goals with recent org.geotools.api and log4j activities completing successfully.
Your Sponsorship of GeoTools is managed by the OpenSource Geospatial Foundation. OSGeo provides public recognition of sponsors annually. GeoTools maintains a tradition of highlighting sponsors in blog posts, project presentations and release announcements to acknowledge financial assistance received.
The following code sprints are of interest to our community:
- GeoTools Code Sprint
- OSGeo Code Sprint
- OGC Code Sprints on standards development
GeoTools participation in these activities will be in the context of the sponsorship opportunities defined above.
| request | activity |
|---|---|
| $500 | Operational |
| $1500 | Security CRA reporting requirements |
| $0 | AGM Attendance |
$500: Request a small operational budget to facilitate PSC operation.
GeoTools PSC has traditionally used operation funds to support infrastructure changes, or to sponsor libraries and tools that have made our project more successful.
$1500: Request funding to facilitate communication with downstream projects and service providers. Goal is gather requirements, and assemble a proposal to vulnerability reporting and communication requirements.
Any kind of "phone home" or "monitoring" requirements are expected to be especially bothersome for downstream applications. A sensible response may be to provide a library method downstream applications can use to check for vulnerabilities over time (that would check against an OSGeo website).
We do not for see the need for assistance attending the 2024 AGM. One of our leadership will either be present at the event, or we will appoint a delegate to present on our behalf, or the AGM will be held online.