[eclipse-dev] Export-Package list: The plan

[Jeff McAffer <Jeff_McAffer@xxxxxxxxxx>]

There is still some confusion around
the Export-Package list in the MANIFEST.MF.  Allow me to clarify the
situation for all Eclipse SDK plugins.

*   ALL Eclipse SDK plugins must
list ALL of their packages in their MANIFEST.MF files.  
*   API or not.  If you have
a package on your plugin's classpath, it must be listed.  
*   New?  List it!  Old?
 List it!  Borrowed from a friend? List it!  

Exceptions to this model should be taken
up with the PMC.

Notice that this puts us in exactly
the same situation as we have always been in.  Everyone has the ability
to see everything.  As we have seen in the past couple days, the community's
desire/need for the freedom to access non-API is overwhelming.  In
fact, this forms a critical part of the Eclipse ecosystem allowing experimentation
and investigation.

This approach is NOT at odds with, and
is fundamentally separate from, our ongoing work to get control over the
API and help developers stay on "the right path".  That
effort is supported by the addition of the component.xml files, the use
of "x-internal" and "x-friends" annotations on export
entries and the PDE/JDT work to more accurately model the runtime classpath
at development time.  

All teams please review your Export-Package
lists and ensure that all packages are listed correctly.