[jdom-interest] API instability?

[Jason Hunter]

"Galluzzo, Eric" wrote:
> 
> We then downloaded a newer version of 1.0b4, which was apparently 
> still called 1.0b4, 

You downloaded a daily snapshot of work since 1.0b4 but not yet 1.0b5. 
They aren't officially versioned.

> and quite a few of the methods we were using (e.g.
> Element.getLongContent()) had not only been deprecated but 
> actually removed.

Those probably should have been deprecated, but considering they were
removed partially for lack of use (no one defended them during the
debates on whether they should be removed) it wasn't a real concern to
deprecate them.  Doing deprecation isn't mandatory; the API is
pre-release afterall.  :-)

You can make an argument on the list for them to be put back in if you'd
like.  Just please first check the archives for justifcation on why they
were removed.  I say this because I remember someone else missing the
methods after they were removed.  (All I can say on missing them after
the fact is that if you want to influence the API you have to read your
email.  It's easier to defend existing methods than convince people to
add methods back.)

> *  How unstable is the API?  We do not want to have to rewrite 
> our code every time a new version is released, as we have had to 
> this time.  If it is too unstable, we will not be able to use it.

It's pre-release.  We don't anticipate future changes like we're having
between beta4 and beta5, but there will be changes.  Some people can
live with that, some can't.  One reason to stay involved before 1.0
though is that it's the only way to influence the API.  If you care
about what 1.0 looks like, you have to be involved before the API is
final!

> * When is 1.0 coming out?  Our manager is afraid of using a pre-1.0
> version of JDOM for anything significant, even though it seems 
> very stable.

1.0 will come out when we collectively are happy with the API and feel
the implementation is stable.

> *  Is there any sort of list of companies successfully using JDOM in
> production that we can peruse?

Not for me to answer.  I know a lot of important companies are looking
into it, and you could use the current code in production probably for
certain tasks.  We're addressing issues like should we check for adding
and element to itself or not, should we sanity check PCDATA content or
not, and should we have a way for an element to get its document or
not.  None of that keeps you from using the current API successfully.

> * Is there any chance of an "official" JDK1.1 version of JDOM, or
> should we keep patching new versions privately when they come out?  

You should really keep up on the mailing list.  There's been a ton of
traffic about this.  JDK 1.1 is already supported in the latest code. 
build11 is the script.

-jh-