[External] : Re: New informational JEP: 14: The Tip & Tail Model of Library Development

[Alex Buckley]

On 10/22/2024 9:59 AM, Alan Snyder wrote:
>> On Oct 22, 2024, at 9:51 AM, Alex Buckley
>> <alex.buckley at oracle.com> wrote:
>> 
>> javac accepts source code written in a version of the Java
>> language defined by a specific edition of the JLS. You are
>> suggesting that javac in JDK 24 has a flag to accept source code
>> which uses the Java 8 language + some but not all of the language
>> features from Java 24. There is no edition of the JLS which
>> specifies that hybrid language.
> 
> True, but fixable. The extra features could be incorporated by
> reference, as preview features are.

Everything is fixable given enough time and energy. We prefer to focus 
our time and energy on designing and delivering new versions of the Java 
language, rather than backporting new features to old versions of the 
language (`javac --accept-java-8-plus-flexible-ctor-bodies`). As JEP 14 
says, "Backporting as little as possible is the discipline that 
distinguishes the tip & tail model of library development from 
traditional multi-train models."

Alex