iText

Abstract

iText is a Java-PDF library that is integrated in many different applications: it's the PDF engine used in JasperReports, jBoss/SEAM, Spring, and so on. Google uses iText to produce PDFs for Google Calendar, Google Analytics, and so forth.

Bruno Lowagie is the original developer of iText, he'll talk about how it all started:

• what led him to write his first PDF library in 1998?
• what does a PDF look like on the inside?

What initially started as a hobby project owned by two private persons, gradually became a professional product, with a plethora of code contributors.

In 2004, three targets were set to guarantee the continuous development of iText.
1. We need more documentation.
2. The Intellectual Property of the library needs to be clear.
3. We need a company for iText.

Meeting these goals was like working on a five-year plan.

First there was the book contract for "iText in Action", published by Manning in 2007. Bruno explains the processes involved when writing a book for a publisher of IT books.

Then there was the IP review, done in close cooperation with Actuate, The Eclipse Foundation and IBM. In his talk Bruno will give some examples of different licensing and IP issues that had to be solved.

Once the code was OK'ed by the legal team of IBM, a company was founded to protect the Intellectual Property of iText. Meanwhile a business plan is being written and new targets are being set.

For the moment, Bruno's #1 priority is writing a "second edition" of "iText in Action". As it turns out, the book will be very different from the "first edition". Bruno will give you a sneak preview of the first six chapters, at the same time introducing some of iText's functionality.

Speaker

Bruno Lowagie works as a developer at Ghent University, and he's the owner of 1T3XT BVBA, the company responsible for the development of iText and for protecting the free nature of the library.

Date and Location

Ghent - November 10th