On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 12:48 AM, Nick Kew <n...@apache.org> wrote: > On Tue, 2014-03-25 at 20:25 -0600, Phil Sorber wrote: > > > > > An API change like that affects existing plugins and could leave us > > > > needing some ugly #ifdef crap to support both before- and after- TS > > > > versions. Can I make a plea to avoid that: maybe a new function > name, > > > > and migrate the old one as a #define wrapper for the new? That > applies > > > > equally to the above with flags or to just adding the c-l-len > argument. > > > > > > > > > We have no precedence with creating new APIs and keeping old ones > around, > > > and I really feel that just adds onto an already confusing API (and > > > somewhat defeats the purpose of this cleanup). But I also understand > your > > > concerns. > > > > > > > > +1. We don't want to tie ourselves down to bad API's, but we also don't > > want to strand users either. You should be able to use the 4.2.x LTS > branch > > for ~1 year still so nothing should be forcing your upgrade hastily. > > That's precisely my point! > > If the API loses back-compatibility, do we (as a plugin-provider) > then support the new or the old? Either way, our users are forced > into a choice which, as you say, nothing should be forcing. > > I'm saying we are not forcing you to hastily upgrade. We don't want to change the API over night and drop support for the old immediately. We also do not want to be forced into keeping poor API designs around. This was the versioning scheme we decided upon. Nothing is sacred between major versions. That being said, I think we should try as hard as possible to not make life overly difficult for users. I am open to compromise, but my default position is that if we think an API is worth changing and we aren't breaking any of our own rules, lets change it.
Perhaps you can propose an alternate solution via an updated patch that includes your #define idea? > Or else our plugin takes on diverging versions. One for HTTPD, > one for nginx, one for trafficserver-old, one for trafficserver-new? > > -- > Nick Kew > >
