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Re: [eclipse-dev] RFC - Withdrawing compiler support for older versions of Java levels



On Thu, Mar 28, 2024 at 12:25 PM Sankaran, Srikanth via eclipse-dev <eclipse-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello!

 

Greetings.

 

I am a committer on the JDT/Core project – specifically focussed on the Eclipse Compiler for Java.

 

  1. I invite comments and objections with justifications to a hypothetical removal of support

for compiling “ancient” Java code using the latest versions of ECJ or Eclipse IDE/SDK.

 

Presently, using  window/project preferences, you can configure the compiler to use

ancient versions of Java for

 

  1. Compiler compliance level : Currently supports all the way back to 1.3
  2. Source compatibility: Currently supports all the way back to 1.3
  3. Generated .class file compatibility : Currently supports all the way back to 1.1 and CLDC 1.1

 

Eclipse compiler code can be modernized quite a bit by dropping support for ancient versions.

By reducing code clutter, we can also bring down the maintenance burden and flatten the learning curve.

Testing cycles will also come down. Currently when a JDT committer runs tests locally, tests are run at all

supported levels.

 

As a comparison, javac from JDK22 does not support source levels below 8. I am proposing we do the same.


+1 from me. The learning curve for Eclipse TLP projects is so big mostly due to a support matrix that literally no one else has and this makes onboarding new people significantly harder than it should be.

One more argument in favor of the move is support for --release option - e.g. if one runs on Java 20+ can't use --release 7 even nowadays as the signatures for Java 7 are no longer shipped with the JVM (https://github.com/eclipse-jdt/eclipse.jdt.core/issues/538).
 

 

  1. Independently, I would also like to hear comments/objections with justifications for removing support

for CLDC_1_1 as a target. Most folks I check with haven’t even heard of this configuration (embedded ??)


The time of J2ME has long passed.
 

 

Past versions of Eclipse SDK/IDE and ecj.jar’s will continue to be hosted at their usual habitat. We are only talking

about newer evolving version of Eclipse/ECJ

 

Thanks!

Srikanth

 

 

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