# Apache Software Foundation (ASF)
The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is a non-profit corporation that supports over 350 [[Open Source]] projects. Founded in 1999 by the Apache Group (original developers of the Apache HTTP Server), ASF has become one of the world's largest open source foundations. Its projects include critical infrastructure like Apache Kafka, Hadoop, Spark, and Cassandra that power much of the modern internet.
ASF pioneered "The Apache Way," a meritocratic model of community-driven development where contributors earn commit access through sustained quality contributions. All ASF projects use the permissive [[Apache 2.0 License]], allowing both commercial and open source use. The foundation operates entirely through volunteers, with over 8,000 committers and 40,000+ contributors worldwide.
## The Apache Way
Core principles guiding all ASF projects:
| Principle | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| **Community over code** | Healthy communities produce better software |
| **Meritocracy** | Influence earned through contributions |
| **Open development** | Decisions made on public mailing lists |
| **Consensus** | Major decisions require community agreement |
| **Vendor neutrality** | No single company controls a project |
| **Independence** | Projects operate autonomously |
## Notable Projects
| Category | Projects |
|----------|----------|
| **Big Data** | Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, Flink, Cassandra, HBase |
| **Web Servers** | HTTP Server, Tomcat, Traffic Server |
| **Build Tools** | Maven, Ant, Gradle (incubating) |
| **Messaging** | Kafka, ActiveMQ, Pulsar |
| **Search** | Lucene, Solr, OpenSearch |
| **Databases** | Cassandra, CouchDB, Derby |
| **Libraries** | Commons, Log4j, POI |
| **Frameworks** | Struts, Wicket, Tapestry |
## Governance Structure
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Board of Directors │
│ (9 members, elected annually) │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────┘
│
┌────────────┼────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────────────┐
│Officers│ │ PMCs │ │ Incubator │
│ │ │ │ │ (new projects)│
└────────┘ └────────┘ └────────────────┘
```
- **Board**: Sets policy, elected by members
- **Members**: ~800 individuals with voting rights
- **PMC (Project Management Committee)**: Governs each project
- **Committers**: Developers with write access
- **Contributors**: Anyone submitting patches
## Project Lifecycle
1. **Incubator**: New projects enter here for mentorship
2. **Top-Level Project (TLP)**: Graduated projects with full PMC
3. **Attic**: Retired projects (read-only archive)
## History
- **1995**: Apache HTTP Server development began
- **1999**: Apache Software Foundation incorporated
- **2002**: Apache Ant released
- **2004**: Apache Maven released
- **2006**: Hadoop enters incubator
- **2011**: Kafka donated by LinkedIn
- **2014**: Spark graduates from incubator
- **Present**: 350+ projects, 8,000+ committers
## Financial Model
- Funded by corporate sponsors (Platinum: $125K/year)
- No paid developers—all volunteer contributors
- Provides infrastructure (git, JIRA, mailing lists, CI)
- Legal protection for contributors
## Sponsorship Tiers
| Tier | Annual Contribution |
|------|---------------------|
| Platinum | $125,000 |
| Gold | $50,000 |
| Silver | $25,000 |
| Bronze | $6,000 |
## References
- https://apache.org
- https://www.apache.org/foundation/how-it-works.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apache_Software_Foundation
- https://projects.apache.org
## Related
- [[Apache 2.0 License]]
- [[Open Source]]
- [[Linux Foundation]]
- [[Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)]]