3 ms·

Isn't Akka an important component in various Scala projects like Apache Spark? What are they supposed to do?

capableweb 4y ago
Other libraries depending on Akka shouldn't have to change, as they are merely published as "libraries", not deployed to "production". Libraries generally never have "annual revenues more than US $25m", so it should be free for them to use the code as well. Realistically though, they force you to contact them to get a "Additional Use Grant" in case you want to use Akka for other open source projects: > I use Akka for an OSS project. What does this mean for my project? > The license offers a customizable “Additional Use Grant” that grants production usage for other OSS projects including Play Framework. > If you are running an OSS project using Akka, please contact us at akka-license@lightbend.com and we will do our best to continue to support your project. I wish them luck on their endeavour, but I know what I'd do if I was building a OSS project needing distributed actors, and it's not to send them an email asking if I could please use their software.
- JonChesterfield 4y ago
  And if the library using akka is in production? Presumably then fees time, as otherwise a thin shim called 'akkalib' that forwards calls would be an escape hatch.
- detaro 4y ago
  I guess that depends if other libraries are fine with only having commercial users willing to pay that much for using Akka. (E.g. since GP mentioned Spark, doesn't that have quite a commercial ecosystem around it that probably won't be happy to suddenly pay thousands per node extra?)
- closeparen 4y ago
  Clearly the OSS developers don't have to pay something per core. The risk would be that anyone with a production Spark or Flink cluster now has to license Akka, e.g. those products are themselves not open source anymore.
- noctune 4y ago
  Akka's new license is highly likely incompatible with the Apache Software Foundation requirements for third party licenses. "Additional use grant" might mean a OSS project does not have to pay, but it still puts heavy restrictions on forking that project. So Apache projects depending on Akka, like Flink or Spark, will probably have to fork it or be stuck on the current version.
  - rad_gruchalski 4y ago
    Spark doesn’t use Akka since 1.6.
hocuspocus 4y ago
Akka is an ecosystem on its own. There's no Akka in Spark, Flink, Kafka, nor at the other end of the Scala spectrum, in FP libraries in the Typelevel or Zio ecosystems. Akka is a part of Play though, which has been abandoned by Lightbend.
- runamok 4y ago
  So iiuc code using the play framework is permitted to use akka (because it's built on top of it) without paying?
- SouthShoreShip 4y ago
  What do you mean no Akka in Flink ? https://github.com/apache/flink/blob/master/flink-rpc/flink-rpc-akka/pom.xml https://github.com/apache/flink/blob/master/flink-rpc/flink-...
  - hocuspocus 4y ago
    Thanks, I stand corrected.
deleted 4y ago
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Other libraries depending on Akka shouldn't have to change, as they are merely published as "libraries", not deployed to "production". Libraries generally never have "annual revenues more than US $25m", so it should be free for them to use the code as well. Realistically though, they force you to contact them to get a "Additional Use Grant" in case you want to use Akka for other open source projects: > I use Akka for an OSS project. What does this mean for my project? > The license offers a customizable “Additional Use Grant” that grants production usage for other OSS projects including Play Framework. > If you are running an OSS project using Akka, please contact us at akka-license@lightbend.com and we will do our best to continue to support your project. I wish them luck on their endeavour, but I know what I'd do if I was building a OSS project needing distributed actors, and it's not to send them an email asking if I could please use their software.

JonChesterfield 4y ago
And if the library using akka is in production? Presumably then fees time, as otherwise a thin shim called 'akkalib' that forwards calls would be an escape hatch.
detaro 4y ago
I guess that depends if other libraries are fine with only having commercial users willing to pay that much for using Akka. (E.g. since GP mentioned Spark, doesn't that have quite a commercial ecosystem around it that probably won't be happy to suddenly pay thousands per node extra?)
closeparen 4y ago
Clearly the OSS developers don't have to pay something per core. The risk would be that anyone with a production Spark or Flink cluster now has to license Akka, e.g. those products are themselves not open source anymore.
noctune 4y ago
Akka's new license is highly likely incompatible with the Apache Software Foundation requirements for third party licenses. "Additional use grant" might mean a OSS project does not have to pay, but it still puts heavy restrictions on forking that project. So Apache projects depending on Akka, like Flink or Spark, will probably have to fork it or be stuck on the current version.
- rad_gruchalski 4y ago
  Spark doesn’t use Akka since 1.6.

hocuspocus 4y ago

Akka is an ecosystem on its own. There's no Akka in Spark, Flink, Kafka, nor at the other end of the Scala spectrum, in FP libraries in the Typelevel or Zio ecosystems. Akka is a part of Play though, which has been abandoned by Lightbend.

runamok 4y ago
So iiuc code using the play framework is permitted to use akka (because it's built on top of it) without paying?
SouthShoreShip 4y ago
What do you mean no Akka in Flink ? https://github.com/apache/flink/blob/master/flink-rpc/flink-rpc-akka/pom.xml https://github.com/apache/flink/blob/master/flink-rpc/flink-...
- hocuspocus 4y ago
  Thanks, I stand corrected.

deleted 4y ago

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