Will split-packages ever be supported?

[Alan Bateman]

On 30/05/2017 11:52, wzberger wrote:

> Our project has around 45 jar libraries and we currently using 
> split-packages as simplest modularization concept. It's a desktop 
> project with different kind of controls - all have in common that they 
> are located in the same package e.g. 'com.swing'. So users can add 
> only required libraries to their project. However, in Jigsaw the 
> split-package concept is not supported - so we have to completely 
> rework our package structure. This means:
>
> - the new package structure will become more complicated because we 
> have to add new packages
> - our API isn't backward compatible
> - our users have to rework their applications
> - our users have to learn the new API (package structure)
>
> So how likely is it that split packages will be supported in the near 
> future?
It's fundamental to reliable configuration that two or more modules do 
not export a package with the same name to a module that reads both 
(continuing from the spec "This includes the case where a module M 
containing package p reads another module that exports p to M"). It 
seems very unlikely to me that something as fundamental and core as this 
will ever be dropped.

To your example, then if the project can't be restructured to address 
the split packages issues then it will need to stay on the class path. 
There's nothing wrong with that, it should continue to work as before.

-Alan.