[Info-vax] Upwards API compatibility, was: Re: linkshrlib.com - link opensource libraries into shareable images

[Simon Clubley]

On 2012-08-03, Stephen Hoffman <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> wrote:
> And some open source 
> package APIs can change at every major version, if not some minor ones.
>

Quite true. GTK's API had incompatible changes made to it when it went
from GTK 1.x to GTK 2.0.

Doesn't libusb also have a couple of incompatible APIs floating around
as well ?

A much more recent example for me would be OpenOCD. At every major version
change I have had to modify or rewrite my OpenOCD scripts because the
command set has changed in a incompatible way.

Given the target audience for OpenOCD, and given the major functionality
enhancements which have come about as a result of the changes, I feel
however, that they have made the correct choice in breaking upwards
compatibility instead of trying to maintain a increasing number of
legacy mode API interfaces.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
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