blog:eclipse_way_core_values
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blog:eclipse_way_core_values [2018/02/01 11:13] djo |
blog:eclipse_way_core_values [2018/02/01 11:33] djo [The Eclipse Modularity Story] |
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| Eclipse is built by multiple distributed teams numbering nearly 700 concurrent engineers (as-of the 2014 release). In order to enable this many engineers to work together without constantly breaking each others' code, Eclipse designed a plug-in system into the architecture from the beginning. | Eclipse is built by multiple distributed teams numbering nearly 700 concurrent engineers (as-of the 2014 release). In order to enable this many engineers to work together without constantly breaking each others' code, Eclipse designed a plug-in system into the architecture from the beginning. | ||
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| + | In my experience, there are two key aspects to this plug-in system that help it to succeed as well as it has both technically and from a product-management perspective. These are: | ||
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| + | - **Internal vs. External API:** Eclipse separates code that is intended to be consumed by other projects from internal implementation detail. Further, developers provide strong guarantees to customers that External API may be evolved, but not in a way that breaks their code. Internal APIs, on the other hand, may break, change, or be completely rewritten as needed. | ||
| + | - **Isolate plug-ins from changes in dependencies of dependencies:** Eclipse's plug-in engine sandboxes and isolates plug-ins from being able to view or change transitive dependencies of dependencies. This minimizes "version hell" caused by these transitive dependencies utilizing conflicting versions of the same library. The purpose is again to enable interdependent projects to evolve independently. | ||
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| + | Here are a few more thoughts on each of these topics. | ||
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| + | ==== Separate internal and external API ==== | ||
| A plug-in is a Java Jar that is divided into two kinds of APIs: | A plug-in is a Java Jar that is divided into two kinds of APIs: | ||
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| API is a deep topic and worth much more than this brief introduction. If there is demand, I can write more about that. | API is a deep topic and worth much more than this brief introduction. If there is demand, I can write more about that. | ||
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| + | ==== Isolate plug-ins from changes in dependencies of dependencies ==== | ||
| In Eclipse, plug-ins run inside Eclipse's OSGi container. OSGi adds an additional benefit to Eclipse's plug-in and API story: | In Eclipse, plug-ins run inside Eclipse's OSGi container. OSGi adds an additional benefit to Eclipse's plug-in and API story: | ||
blog/eclipse_way_core_values.txt ยท Last modified: 2018/02/01 11:37 by djo
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