At a Glance:
- Involved in open source since: 2008
- Works for: Lablicate GmbH
- Eclipse Foundation contributor since: 2010
- Involved in: Eclipse ChemClipse, Eclipse SWTChart, Eclipse Science, Eclipse SWTImageJ
- Eclipse Foundation committer since: 2015
What’s your background as a developer?
My father was an engineer at Körber AG, specialising in laser technology, cigarette machines and similar fields. So I got my first computer at a young age, an Acer 500+, and I was immediately fascinated. I thought, why not use a computer to do my work so I have more time for other things? That idea is still what drives me today.
I created a PHP programme and taught myself programming with a Visual Basic book by Michael Kofler. Along the way, I wrote some tools and even started a company, although back then it wasn’t successful. I would describe myself as largely a self-taught programmer: learning by doing.
If computers were such a passion for you, why didn’t you choose to study computer science?
I have many other interests, and of course, I couldn’t pursue all of them. I’ve always enjoyed chemistry, particularly analytical chemistry, so I began studying Wood Science and Technology at the University of Hamburg, which is a fascinating combination of different fields. At that stage, I wasn’t at all sure what direction I wanted my professional career to take. I simply wanted to give it a try, and Wood Science is quite a niche subject, with only about fifteen new students enrolled each semester.
The programme, however, covered a wide range of topics and disciplines, including physics, biology, and chemistry. This interdisciplinary approach eventually inspired me to combine programming with chemistry.
How did you get involved in open source?
When I read the excellent Visual Basic book by Michael Kofler mentioned earlier, I experimented a great deal with Visual Basic 6. It gave me the opportunity to create my own user interfaces, write macros, and code in Basic. I know some people consider it a poor language, but I would argue it’s one of the best. At least it was an excellent starting point for me.
When I wanted to progress to the next level, there were many different applications and programming languages to explore. C and C++ were powerful, but also a bit too heavy for my purposes, so I primarily focused on Java and C#.
With Java, I had access to a vast range of libraries, so I didn’t need to write everything from scratch. On top of that, there is the entire ecosystem of open source code available for Java. Since I have been a Linux user from its early days, C# was not really an option for me.
How did you first become involved with the Eclipse Foundation?
I began my PhD in 2007, during which I worked on a proposal involving Eclipse RCP, Java and related technologies. A major role model for me was BioClipse, developed by colleagues from Uppsala University in Sweden. They had created a bioinformatics RCP toolkit several years before OpenChrom™ appeared, and that really inspired me. I began to think: could we do something similar for chemistry and chemical data analysis?
Eventually, in 2010, I published the first version of OpenChrom™ as open source, back then on SourceForge. In 2011, I submitted my application for the Eclipse Community Award, which I was honored to receive for “best RCP application.” This also gave me the opportunity to attend EclipseCon [now Open Community Experience]. That period was when I first became actively involved with the Eclipse Foundation. We also planned to start a Science Working Group, because I felt that working together makes things much more cost-effective and efficient, rather than developing everything from scratch. That plan failed, but still, this marked the beginning of my involvement in the community because I already had a strong commitment to open source, its values, and community work, and I started to think about how I could give something back to the community through the work I was doing.
In 2012, I received an EXIST business startup grant [a nationwide program to fund early-stage startups], which allowed me to start a company after I finished my PhD thesis. Since then, I’ve made my living from OpenChrom™, which we then trademarked and which is based on the project Eclipse ChemClipse.
What are the biggest challenges as a committer?
In the beginning, it was quite challenging for me to get used to code reviews with Gerrit and all the associated processes. That was difficult to manage at first, but with GitHub pull requests, it has become much easier nowadays.
I don’t see many bottlenecks or drawbacks to being a committer. Of course, we work in a niche product and niche market, and there are not many people focusing on this chemistry-related area.
Eclipse SWTChart does have some users, and occasionally new ideas come in, but there isn’t a great deal of activity. Most people nowadays tend to use JavaScript libraries and other solutions.
From our side, we run the company, deliver customer projects, and contribute as much open source code back to the community as possible. Of course, if people are interested in contributing and perhaps becoming committers on SWTChart, I would very much welcome that. But I also accept the reality that there are not many contributors at the moment.
What’s been more challenging is on-site community activities. For example, we organised several dev days and hackathons in Hamburg with the Eclipse Foundation to improve the project and share knowledge. However, participation declined over the years, with fewer and fewer people getting involved, so we stopped those activities.
What have been some highlights of being a committer?
EclipseCon in Ludwigsburg was always a real highlight. For me, it’s always about the people – spending time with others, talking through ideas, discussing issues, having a beer together, and so on. That’s a big part of being a committer, and it really gives you a sense of community. Unfortunately, I haven’t been to the conference for several years now. I have to travel to visit customers and attend other conferences in the chemistry world. Ultimately, it’s a matter of time.
Hopefully we’ll see you at Open Community Experience in Brussels next year! Do you have any advice for someone looking to start a business based on open source?
I don’t want to give the impression that I know exactly how to do it. I don’t. I simply try, and try again. What I would recommend is to ask yourself: is what you’re doing a niche market and a niche business? How do you make money with it, and are your customers willing to pay, and if so, in what way?
On the one hand, open source has huge value. It drives innovation, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without the Eclipse Foundation, open source code, open source IDEs, and the many tools that are available. Those were essential prerequisites for starting a business like mine. On the other hand, you also need to think about how to earn money in the long term with the work you do, and to be aware of the risks. For example, what happens if someone takes your code and integrates it into an application that competes directly in your market? You need to anticipate this, think about how you can differentiate, and plan accordingly.
If you can find a way to build a sustainable business model with open source, then by all means do it! But it’s not an easy question. It involves many factors and decisions. In my view, open source can only be maintained long term if there is a solid business plan behind it. If you make a project open source but can’t generate revenue from it, it won’t be sustainable.
For me, the key question has always been: what can I do in open source, and what should remain proprietary? The approach I follow is to open as much as possible, but not to be naïve: don’t release the very parts that represent your competitive advantage. It’s about finding the right balance, and it’s certainly not easy.