Folks,

I was causally walking down Update VPP Master Lane when I was
suddenly attacked from behind by a case of the missing API call!
I read vpp-dev mail daily, and I watch the Gerrit fervently, so I was
pretty sure I wouldn't be blind-sided by this sort of Silent Gotcha.

But there was no mistaking it:  My API call bridge_domain_sw_if_details
was gone.  And only two days ago too!  I was shocked.  Horrified, even.
I knew the next build my code would fail.  There would be no updating
to Top-Of-Tree VPP today.

What would I tell my boss?  *My* code was broken?  Surely you wouldn't
expect me to fall on the "I'm sorry.  My code is broken." sword.  My own
code!  Surely I could blame someone else?  I mean, what if there were
some email from the developers?  A little heads-up that the API was on
The Out and would soon go the way of Sonny Bono.  But no, no, there
wasn't even a hint.

I was going to have to admit I failed to see this coming in the Gerrit reviews.

And now, without even lunch, I would have to deduce what data used to be
in that API call, and how it was cached in my VPP interface library, and yes,
I'd have to scurry to find where that data was located now.

But how?  How could this be?  I lamented still.  I just knew last time *I*
wanted an API interface change, I spent a week discussing it on the list,
and, after deliberation a-plenty, a new API was needed, and then later,
in fact after a complete release cycle, we could begin to discuss how the
old API call might be deprecated and finally removed.  I longed for the day
that we would finally make progress, content in the knowledge that we
had not, in fact, blind-sided anyone with our API deprecation plan.

But those days are behind us now, and the future comes at us plenty fast.
Commits are committed, and progress is progressed.  My scars are healing,
and after all this water under and through the bridge, I have learned now to
just laugh at these situations.

Ah, to be young again, and not have wasted my youth on backward compatibility
and cheap Scotch.

jdl
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