We have created a WebObjects Community on June 26th 2007, survey that what closed on August 3th 2007. The survey was asking general questions and was targeted for every organization who develops WebObjects applications. We have 267 organizations who answered the survey, so we do think that it gives a very good overview of the WO eco-system.

Those are the results of the survey :

Question #1: Number of organizations per country

• USA: 91
• Germany: 32
• France: 25
• Canada: 22 (eh!)
• UK: 17
• Australia: 12
• Japan: 8
• Italy: 7
• New Zealand: 6
• Switzerland: 6
• Sweden: 5
• Belgium: 4
• Netherlands: 3
• Brazil: 2
• Iceland: 2
• Mexico: 2
• Portugal: 2
• Spain: 2
• Austria: 1
• Bulgaria: 1
• Costa Rica: 1
• Czech Republic: 1
• Denmark: 1
• Hungary: 1
• Kenya: 1
• Luxembourg: 1
• Malaysia: 1
• Monaco: 1
• Norway: 1
• Panama: 1
• Poland: 1
• Russian Federation: 1
• Singapore: 1

Question #2: Which version of WebObjects are you using? (267 answers, was a multi-choice answer)

• 5.3.x
  • 86.1%
  • 230 organizations

• 5.2.x
  • 24.3%
  • 65 organizations

• 5.1.x
  • 3.0%
  • 8 organizations

• 5.0.x
  • 0.8%
  • 2 organizations

• 4.5.x (Objective-C)
  • 2.3%
  • 6 organizations

• 4.5.x (Java)
  • 3.4%
  • 9 organizations

Question #3: What is your primary development platform? (267 answers)

• Mac OS X
  • 86.9%
  • 232 organizations
• Windows
  • 12.0%
  • 32
• Linux
  • 0.4%
  • 1
• Solaris
  • 0.4%
  • 1
• Both Mac OS X and Windows
  • 0.4%
  • 1

Question #4: How many Macs does your organization have for development?

We skipped the results of this question because we forgot to specify that it’s the number of Mac for WO development.

Question #5: How many developers at your organization are using WebObjects?

We have a total number of 869 WO developers, with a average of 3.25 developers per organization.

The biggest WebObjects development shop (outside of Apple) have 100 developers.

Question #6: If you are using commercial or free WebObjects frameworks not provided by Apple or your own, please specify which one (163 answers)

• Wonder
  • 147 organizations
• WireHose
  • 8 organizations
• GVC Frameworks
  • 5 organizations
• LEWO
  • 4 organizations
• ReportMill
  • 3 organizations
• Noxymo
  • 2 organizations
• Houdah Frameworks
  • 1 organization
• WOJasperAccess
  • 1 organization
• iText
  • 1 organization
• Cocktail Consortium
  • 1 organization
• WOUnitTest2
  • 1 organization
• SoloWeb
  • 1 organization
• PDFkit
  • 1 organization
• LISTedit
  • 1 organization

Question #7: Which IDE to you use for development? (267 answers)

• Eclipse/WOLips
  • 51%
  • 136 organizations
• XCode
  • 40%
  • 107 organizations
• Project Builder
  • 4%
  • 10 organizations
• XCode AND Eclipse/WOLips
  • 4%
  • 10 organizations
• Intelli J Idea
  • 1% organizations
  • 4 organizations

Question #8: Are you aware that the WebObjects development tools (WebObjects Builder, EOModeler and RuleEditor) are deprecated ? (131 answers, asked only for people that use an another IDE than WOLips)

• Yes, I am aware of this situation
  • 90.8%
  • 119 organizations
• No, I wasn’t aware of this situation
  • 9.2%
  • 12 organizations

Question #9: Do you plan to migrate from XCode to Eclipse/WOLips? (131 answers, asked only for people that use an another IDE than WOLips)

• Yes, in the next 6 months
  • 22.1%
  • 29 organizations
• Yes, in the next 12 months
  • 13.7%
  • 18 organizations
• Yes, next year or later
  • 13.0%
  • 17 organizations
• No, I don’t plan to migrate to Eclipse/WOLips
  • 35.1%
  • 46 organizations
• We are already migrating to Eclipse/WOLips
  • 3.1%
  • 4 organizations
• We use both Eclipse/WOLips and XCode, we are planning to migrate everything to Eclipse/WOLips
  • 13.0%
  • 17 organizations

Question #10: Do you think that Apple should ship a tool to convert a XCode WebObjects project to the Eclipse/WOLips format? (131 answers, asked only for people that use an another IDE than WOLips)

• Yes
  • 68.7%
• No
  • 31.3%

Question #11: Do you think that the community should ship a tool to convert a XCode WebObjects project to the Eclipse/WOLips format? (131 answers, asked only for people that use an another IDE than WOLips)

• Yes
  • 66.2%
• No
  • 33.9%

Question #12: Some people think that what’s missing from Eclipse/WOLips is a graphical WOComponent editor to WebObjects Builder. Do you want such a tool, and if yes, how much are you ready to give to have such a tool. (265 answers)

• Yes, but it must be free and open source
  • 18.9%
  • 50 organizations
• Yes, but it must be free (closed or open source)
  • 20.8%
  • 55 organizations
• $100 USD or less
  • 21.5%
  • 57 organizations
• $250 USD or less
  • 16.2%
  • 43 organizations
• $500 USD or less
  • 8.3%
  • 22 organizations
• No, I won’t use such a tool
  • 14.3%
  • 38 organizations

Question #13: Some people want a standalone IDE, based on Eclipse and WOLips, that will include everything needed for WebObjects development with a stable WOLips installation. Do you think it’s a good idea? If yes, how much should this tool cost? (239 answers)

• Must be free and open source
  • 38.1%
  • 91 organizations
• Must be free (open or closed source)
  • 20.5%
  • 49 organizations
• $100 USD or less
  • 17.6%
  • 42 organizations
• $250 USD or less
  • 12.6%
  • 30 organizations
• $500 USD or less
  • 10.0%
  • 24 organizations
• More than $500 USD
  • 1.3%
  • 3 organizations

Question #14: Do you use Java Client? (266 answers)

• Yes
  • 17.3%
  • 46 organizations
• No
  • 82.7%
  • 220 organizations

Question #15: Do you use Direct To Web? (267 answers)

• Yes
  • 41.6%
  • 111 organizations
• No
  • 58.4%
  • 156 organizations

Question #16: Do you use Direct To Web Services? (264 answers)

• Yes
  • 22.7%
  • 60 organizations
• No
  • 77.3%
  • 204 organizations

Question #17: Do you consume Web Services (SOAP, REST, or other) using WebObjects? (265 answers)

• Yes
  • 49.4%
  • 131 organizations
• No
  • 50.6%
  • 134 organizations

Question #18: Do you provide Web Services (SOAP, REST, or other) using WebObjects? (266 answers)

• Yes
  • 52.6%
  • 140 organizations
• No
  • 47.4%
  • 126 organizations

Question #19: Did you go to Apple’s WWDC07? (267 answers)

• Yes, and I plan to attend next year
  • 20.6%
  • 55 organizations
• Yes, but I don’t plan to attend it next year
  • 1.1%
  • 3 organizations
• No, but I will go next year
  • 14.6%
  • 39 organizations
• No, not enough WebObjects sessions to justify the cost
  • 18.4%
  • 49 organizations
• No, for various reasons
  • 45.3%
  • 121 organizations

Question #20: Which WebObjects topics should WWDC talk about? (128 answers)

The most requested topics are :

• Advanced EOF
• AJAX/Web 2.0
• Real-world scenarios/uses cases
• Development tools
• Best pratices
• Tuning, especially for large deployments
• Sessions for beginners
• Roadmap/future of WO
• Integration with other Apple technologies (iPhone, Cocoa, etc.)
• Information of the internals of the frameworks

Question #21: Do you think Apple should give a “Introduction to WebObjects” session at WWDC so that Cocoa/Carbon developers that learn more about WebObjects? (260 answers)

• Yes
  • 56.2%
• No
  • 5.4%
• Maybe
  • 38.5%

Question #22: Did you go to WOWODC 2007? (267 answers)

• Yes, and I plan to attend next year
  • 15.7%
  • 42 organizations
• Yes, but I don’t plan to attend it next year
  • 0.4%
  • 1 organization
• No, but I will go next year
  • 18.7%
  • 50 organizations
• No, I wasn’t aware of this conference
  • 11.2%
  • 30 organizations
• No, for various reasons
  • 53.9%
  • 144 organizations

Question #23: Do you prefer that WOWODC should be near WWDC (the weekend before or after WWDC) like it was this year? (229 answers)

• Yes
  • 84.3%
• No
  • 15.7%

Question #24: Which WebObjects topics should WOWODC talk about? (108 answers)

The most requested topics are :

• AJAX/Web 2.0
• Eclipse/WOLips
• Best practices
• Wonder and other frameworks
• Migrating to WOLips
• Tuning and architecture for large scale deployments
• Developing/deploying on other platforms
• Succes stories
• Real world case studies for large deployments

Question #25: If the community releases online or DVD training, would you buy such training? (265 answers)

• Yes
  • 31.3%
  • 83 organizations
• No
  • 8.3%
  • 22 organizations
• Maybe, depends of the quality and cost
  • 60.4%
  • 160 organizations

Question #26: If the community create a podcast or online seminar to showcase WebObjects applications, would you listen to such a thing? (263 answers)

• Yes, if it’s free
  • 62.7%
• Yes, free or paid
  • 33.6%
• No
  • 3.7%

Question #27: If the community create a podcast or online seminar to showcase WebObjects applications, would you show one of your applications? (258 answers)

• Yes
  • 59.7%
• No
  • 40.3%

Question #28: What is your primary deployment platform? (266 answers)

• Mac OS X
  • 68.5%
  • 182 organizations
• Windows
  • 7.5%
  • 20 organizations
• Linux
  • 15%
  • 40 organizations
• Solaris
  • 5.6%
  • 15 organizations
• FreeBSD
  • 1.8%
  • 5 organizations
• Multiple platforms
  • 1.5%
  • 4 organizations

Question #29: How many Macs are you using for deployment (for people who deploys on Mac OS X)? (198 answers)

Total number of 861 Mac for deployment, with a average of 4.35 Mac per organization deploying on Mac OS X.

Question #30: Do you deploy your applications in a J2EE container? (266 answers)

• Yes
  • 17.3%
  • 46 organizations
• No
  • 82.7%
  • 220 organizations

Question #31: For how many years has your organization been using WebObjects? (267 answers)

The average number of years is 5.4 years, around the same time where WO 5 was released. 151 organizations (56.6%) are using WO for 5 years or less, 118 organizations (43.4%) are using WO for more than 5 years.

Question #32: Do you plan to stop using WebObjects in the next 12 months? (267 answers)

• No
  • 72.7%
  • 194 organizations
• Yes
  • 5.6%
  • 15 organizations
• Maybe, it depends of the feature set of newer releases
  • 21.7%
  • 58 organizations

Question #33: Apple dropped support for the development tools but they say that they will focus on the frameworks and the runtime. Do you think that this is a good thing? (267 answers)

• Yes
  • 42.7%
  • 114 organizations
• No
  • 39.3%
  • 105 organizations
• Maybe, if Apple contributes/helps to WOLips and the community :
  • 4.9%
  • 13 organizations
• Other answers/comments
  • 13.1%
  • 35 organizations

Question #34: Any comments for Apple about WebObjects? (183 answers)

Top comments :

• We need a roadmap
• Please market it
• Dropping the tools is a bad idea/the tools was one of the WO strong features
• WO is the best
• We need more support/documentation
• Help the community
• Please open source it

Question #35: Any comments for the Wonder and WOLips teams? (183 answers)

Top comments :

• To the contributors; thank you !
• More documentation, please !
• WOLips is cool, but lacking features/ease of use
• Thanks to WOLips and Wonder, I still use WO because of those tools
• We need a GUI replacement for WO Builder

Question #36: Any comments for the WebObjects community in general? (104 answers)

Top comments :

• WO is still the best, don’t go away
• We need to organize ourselves
• Apple should support us
• Great community, great help
• Stop complaining, and help the community instead

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 4th, 2007 at 9:38 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.