JBoss EAP - What parts of the source does one have access to? Can you build it?

[ndipiazza]

Question about the source code for JBoss EAP versions 4 5 or 6.

Let's say we decided to purchase JBoss EAP 5 from RedHat. Can we still run maven to build JBoss EAP version? Are there closed source resources involved?

Basically we are worried that going with the EAP version will limit our ability to utilize JBoss as an Open Source tool. We want the fixes provided after the product is out of community bug-fix range... but still want the ability to make our own changes.

I would imagine there is closed source involved. Otherwise, for example, people would be able to take the patches from JBoss EAP 4.3 and then apply them to JBoss 4.2.3.GA community version. Or am I mistaken?

Please see this reference: JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Component Details https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/articles/112673 - Describes each open source JBoss component utilized from JBoss AS EAP version. But what it does not describe is patches etc that are applied.

[ndipiazza]

I found this great link contributed by Peter Johnson on code ranch:

http://www.coderanch.com/t/466574/JBoss/JBoss-open-source-vs-JBoss

Feature comparison:

JBoss EAP 4.3 (the commercial version) is JBoss AS 4.2.1 + patches + Seam (I forget the version) + JBoss Messaging.

In essence, there is nothing special about the commercial version other than the various components have undergone more rigorous testing and you get support. With the free version you get to fix problems yourself or post your problems on a forum and hope that someone helps you. If you are reasonably confident in your technical abilities and do not mind doing your own app serve debugging and patching, then the free AS version is for you. If you expect someone else to fix problems, buy support.

Since the commercial and community versions of JBoss AS are derived from the same source code base, the question is moot. Both are open source, but one provides guaranteed support.

Note that this implies that even if you purchase the commercial version with support that you have access to the full source code (there are three basic commercial downloads - binary, source and documentation). So even with the commercial version you could do your own debugging/fixing. And it is not that different from the community version so you could still get help on the forums.

My prior question still stands - if you run into a problem, how confident are you in your ability to provide a timely fix to the problem? Or would you prefer someone else to guarantee a fix in a specific time period? For example, if your web site generates $100K per minute for your company, how long can you afford for your web site to be down? Of course, if your web site generates only $1 per minute, commercial support might not be worth it.

Please pay careful attention to the above terminology. "Commercial" stands for the product for which you can get support. "Community" stands for the free download. Both "commercial" and "community" are "open source" - that is, you have full access to the source and use an open source license (LGPL). [I am going on memory on that last point, I don't have access to any of my copies of EAP at this time to verify the license, but I believe they are LGPL.]