Meet This Year's Top Committer Nominees

Martin Oberhuber

DZone: Congratulations on the nomination Martin. Could you tell us more about yourself?

Martin: I'm 37 years old, married and got 2 kids. I live in Salzburg, Austria, and have been working for Wind River (formerly TakeFive software) since 10 years. I've always been interested in software development process and practices to ensure top quality. I'm glad that quality plays such a big role at Eclipse. In my little spare time, I like reading, skiing and hiking.

DZone: What are the main things that you do within the community?

Martin: I'm leading the DSDP Target Management Project, and I'm a platform core committer, but I guess what's most important to the Community is my role on the Eclipse Architecture Council. As the chair of the AC, I see
myself as a facilitator: collecting the topics that the Community cares about, and bringing the great people together that we have in order to move things forward in a positive way. I'm also active on the Galileo cross-project list, testing things and filing bugs to ensure that the Release train really works as a whole as it should.

DZone: How long have you been involved with Eclipse?

Martin: Wind River proposed the Device Software Development Platform (DSDP) project in March 2005, and along with it the Target Management project was created shortly after. I've been leading the TM project since it's
inception, but have also been reaching out to the wider community from the beginning.

DZone: Do you have a favourite project within the Eclipse ecosystem?

Martin: There's so many exciting new things going on that it's hard to make a choice here. I'm really thrilled about the great amount of innovation and quality work. If I must make a choice, I guess that the Platform and
Equinox are still dearest to me because they really are the enablers for all the great work going on -- both in terms of technology and the exemplary process that they have been practicing.

DZone: In the Eclipse world, what were your highlights of 2008, and what are you looking forward to in 2009?

Martin: Well my personal highlight of 2008 is being able to serve on the Architecture Council. It's really exciting to be able and work with some of the greatest engineers in our industry to move things forward. I'm
really glad that Wind River allows me to spend the time for this work. For 2009, I'm most looking forward to the work on the e4 project, exploring some fundamental change in the base Eclipse architecture while still doing our best to remain compatible to clients. The work surrounding this is really exciting.

DZone: What is your full time job?

Martin: I'm employed by Wind River as a full time Eclipse committer and contributor to other Open Source projects. Of that time, in the past quarter I've been spending about 30% for the TM project, 30% for the Architecture Council, 30% for the Platform and e4, and 10% for other Open Source projects (JSch, RXTX, Apache Commons). Of course things are changing quickly in our industry, and my priorities have been shifting
as needed.

DZone: What do you like most about contibuting to Eclipse?

Martin: Working in a multi-national setting of great engineers and the high focus on quality.

DZone: Is it difficult for you to find the time to commit to  Eclipse projects?

Martin: No, thanks to my employer, Wind River, who's sponsoring my work full time.

DZone: Why do you think you should be chosen as Top Committer?

Martin: Because I'm caring for the Community, looking beyond just my own projects, and working to improve things for all committers.

James is a DZone Zone Leader and has posted 231 posts at DZone. You can read more from them at their website.