| Re: [e4-dev] Dependency Preference and Versioning |
Thomas Watson wrote on 01/14/2009 11:32:00 AM:
> ...
> I think the problem is there is a disconnect between the compiler
> and the runtime behavior in some cases. There are cases where the
> compiler will fail to compile some code unless you do the re-export
> trick or explicitly require bundles which you don't actually use.
In this context, I think it is useful to remind everyone that the normal backwards compatibility promise for Eclipse is that we will ensure binary compatibility, i.e. if you don't recompile your bundle will continue to work in newer versions. Source compatibility is not always the same, and our position in the past has been that source-level incompatibilities are ok if the fix on the client side is easy, such as e.g. inserting a cast where there was no cast, having to import classes using fully qualified names instead of the .* notation. If recompiling a bundle against newer versions of the bundles it depends on requires clients to tweak their MANIFEST.MF in simple ways, then I think this would be ok as long as the unmodified (compiled) bundle continues to run fine in the new environment. Of course, things like these need to be documented in the porting guide.
Boris