[jdom-interest] Next JDOM evolution

[Dennis Sosnoski]

Jason Hunter wrote:

>Here's the text from the CHANGES.txt file from b7 to b8...
>
>REMOVED CLASSES
>---------------
>None.
>
>REMOVED METHODS
>---------------
>Removed the methods deprecated in beta7.
>
>DEPRECATED METHODS
>------------------
>Deprecated the DOMBuilder.build() methods that build from a File, URL,
>or
>InputStream.  This helps people understand those methods are for testing
>only.
>DOMBuilder.build(org.w3c.dom.Document) and such are still undeprecated.
>
>
>Beta7 to Beta8 was a big improvement, but you don't see a whole lot of
>churn in backward compatability.  We keep the option open to break
>compatability, but we don't churn needlessly.  We also deprecate in Beta
>N before removal in Beta N+1, so if you're upgrading beta by beta you
>won't have problems and will have plenty of time to adjust your method
>calls.
>
This doesn't mention the change to using a Text element in Beta8, which 
definitely breaks existing code.

>>Otherwise, I feel JDOM should come with the same sort of disclaimer as
>>the Sun Early Access releases of other JSRs - evaluation only,
>>everything subject to change, not for use in production products, etc.
>>As it is right now JDOM sometimes appears to be claiming the stature of
>>a standard without accepting the responsibility that goes along with it.
>>
>
>It has the word "Beta" on it.  The download page gives all kind of
>warnings.
>
>-jh-
>
"all kinds of warnings" seems a bit of an overstatement. The only 
relevant text I can see is the general description of Milestone Builds, 
which the betas are listed under: " Milestone builds indicate large 
additions in functionality, or pre-release, feature-frozen builds that 
may soon become release builds. Although generally stable, they often 
contain new features that are still being tested for their value and 
usability. These are great for developers and users trying to see what 
is coming in the next versions of JDOM." That seems ambiguous at best, 
especially compared to the very explicit disclaimers on other, 
comparable, pre-releases.

As I've said several times over the last year, I look forward to when 
JDOM does have a stable release. It definitely makes many types of 
operations very easy, and will be a great addition to the Java XML 
toolset once it's in stable form. Until then it's a risk to use in 
production products because it's essentially unsupported ("update to the 
latest CVS version and change your code to match" doesn't count in my book).

  - Dennis