[jbosstools-dev] Migrating API

Hey all: I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone that changing interfaces is not allowed if the interface is public and non-internal. Interfaces cannot change at all and require very careful migration. Other tasks which are not allowed include changing the return type of an API class in ANY fashion. I've also been guilty of this recently, and caused a breakage in the soa product, but recent patch submissions have done the same. These rules are a lot more critical in LOW level modules, such as base/*, server/*, etc, and less so for projects like Central, which are at the top of the stack and have very few consumers. But, the rules still must be enforced regardless and we should always try to keep api stable. Migrating public interfaces is a bit of a harder task, and anyone attempting to do it should probably ask for advice on how to maintain api compatability. For stable components like base/common, it must be done in the safest way possible. This usually involves creating a second interface which extends the first, and creating new methods to use the more specific interface. In the future, when designing an API, if you think you might ever need any return value, even if you don't need one now, it is a good idea to return Object. While I don't think this is a beautiful solution, the fact is any subclass can return a more specific value. If you simply declare it as a 'void' return value, this can never be changed at all in any way. Any questions on api migration, do not delay to ask the list :) - Rob Stryker