[jdom-interest] Java 1.5 language features.

[Talden]

Java Generics is a fundamental concept that reduces the exposure to
ClassCastException and reduces (albeit trivially) the number of
cast-checks that the compiler must place in byte-code.  There is a
trade-off of more verbosity in declarations but a reduction in the
complexity of many expressions where casting previously would be
required.

Failure to incorporate generic information in the JDOM API results in
a large number of compilation warnings that are both distracting and
often in violation of development codes of practice for some teams.

There have been a number of mentions of this topic in the past, once
when generics were proposed in 2002 and later in 2004.  Since then
people have either stopped using JDOM or stopped expecting any
progress on this issue.

Is there any effort being placed towards introducing Java 1.5 language
features into the JDOM API?  Initially this might merely mean tagging
the API with appropriate return and argument types and distributing an
updated jar and javadoc - that is 'unchecked' warnings within the JDOM
code-base would only be visible to builders of JDOM not the users of
JDOM.

--
Talden
http://www.flickr.com/photos/Talden