Proposal: #CompileTimeDependences: `requires static`

[Simon Nash]

mark.reinhold at oracle.com wrote:
> 2016/6/28 15:50:52 -0700, Remi Forax <forax at univ-mlv.fr>:
>> Apart the fact that 'static' should be spelled 'optional', there is no
>> reason to reuse static as it doesn't convey the semantics we want,
>> i.e. optional at runtime, i fully agree with this proposal.
> 
> In this context `static` is intended to mean "at compile time" or,
> equivalently, before the more "dynamic" phases of run time and link
> time (the latter of which is more like run time than compile time).
> 
> I agree that `static` is potentially confusing since its meaning here
> is different from what `static` means when used on a member of a class.
> 
> It does, however, fit nicely with its (nearly) dual directive, `exports
> dynamic`, proposed for #ReflectiveAccessToNonExportedTypes.
> 
> I think `optional` is a non-starter, since `requires optional` reads as
> an oxymoron, and it's optional at run time but mandatory at compile
> time, so in what sense is it, really, "optional"?
> 
> Suggestions of other alternatives are welcome ...
> 
> - Mark
> 
I agree with Remi that 'static' isn't a good choice.  One the nice
improvements of Java over C was Java's cleaner and more consistent usage
of the 'static' keyword.

How about 'requires import' or 'requires imported'?  This is consistent
with the current usage of 'import' to declare compile-time dependencies
on other packages.

  Simon