Applications need infrastructure. We have always been very specific about those things we have been critical of. For example, my two books were not a crude attack on server side Java infrastructure, but a detailed argument as to which features work best and how to use them effectively. Thus we have designed our own platform to exhibit the qualities we believe in: to be lightweight, modular (leveraging the potential of OSGi) and based around a POJO programming model. We believe that if people evaluate the SpringSource Application Platform they will see that it is not just another old-school app server, but something genuinely different. Rgds Rod

1) Which part of it is SpringSource proprietary? The programming model is Spring, so no change there--all open source and not tied to our server environment. The deployment model is also available in open source, and is based on OSGi Alliance standards. 2) Which part of it is not Open Source? There are two editions of the product. The open source edition, and an edition for our subscription customers that adds management (SpringSource AMS), value-added integration to the Oracle database (SpringSource Advanced Pack for Oracle Database) and the SpringSource Tool Suite. (These are already available to Spring Framework users as part of our SpringSource Enterprise offering.) Our philosophy is that the core server is available in open source, but value adds that enhance enterprise usage are available under subscription. This is a common, proven model for open source, and I believe that our division of features is clean and friendly to developers. This model allows us to make a huge investment in developing open source software that we can sustain over time. The release available today is under an evaluation license--the open source edition will be available when the final release goes out. This is purely a time constraint. Rgds Rod