Alex, thank you for your thoughtful responses. Some comments in return: You wrote:
> Now we reach the disagreement. We don't think the module declaration will > be as fluid as you do. Yes, frameworks and other tools will want to modify > module declarations (usually by addition of dependencies or exports) but > that's a handful of actors, all of whom are perfectly capable of using ASM. > 99.99% of humans have no business modifying someone else's module > declaration by hand, so there is no reason for it to be easy. > For various reasons, I've sometimes had to edit Manifest files. Either I needed some human knowledge, it specified something wrong needing a fix, or I wanted to add information. I want to understand your perspective better. Would you prefer Manifests to be a compiled manifest-info.java if it was "green field development" today? I don't find editing the Manifest to be out of my business; I am curious why you think the same for modules. You wrote: > A module declaration configures code -- "exports" determines the > accessibility of types. > Understood. I am still pondering that decision while information and experience rolls in. David Llyod provided an alternative proposal that has gone unchallenged as of yet. It's very well written and precise. I am not sure if the non-Oracle EG members are waiting for a finished prototype before discussing things at large, but I have open ears waiting for what other experts think. You wrote: > Sure, you could configure accessibility with @Exported on public type > declarations, and configure the build-time and run-time environment with a > module.xml file. But if we're going to introduce the concept of a module to > millions of Java developers, we see value in consolidating both kinds of > configuration in one place -- a place that's fluid during development and > not very fluid thereafter. > @Exported would directly tie a package and configuration together. That's a plus. In fact, I prefer that for the reason I prefer annotations (i.e., the 1:1 code/configuration). However, I am assuming that an exported package is forever exported -- no one can undo my export, right? If so, I prefer the annotated solution; otherwise I prefer an external configuration (currently the Module Descriptor). Anyway, I'll continue reading the mailing list here to see how others opine. Cheers, Paul
