Hi Jon, Thanks for the poetry! ;-)
This is me in 01384fe
Apologies for that. Next time I see you let me bring both band aid and whiskey.
To my excuse, there has been this list of "broken" APIs maintained by the
Python and Java language binding implementors. It's been on the todo list for a
long time and I finally found some time to deal with them. Obviously not
everyone was aware of those planned changes. I did include those I thought
affected as code reviewers. #fail.
I feel your pain. How can we make this better?
1) Never change APIs, regardless the reason
2) Announce and discuss changes a priori. Separate mailing list for API changes?
{vpp-users, vpp-api-announce}
3) ...
Do we reach everyone using vpp on vpp-dev and a heads-up there would suffice?
Cheers,
Ole
> On 23 May 2017, at 19:19, Jon Loeliger <j...@netgate.com> wrote:
>
> 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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