>There is one aspect of 1.1 compatibility which, if resolved, would mean
>that I could use Classpath for at least development of a project I am
>working on in "real world" work. This project uses serialization between
>an applet and a servlet. Classpath could handle the server side with no
>problems in a development situation - except that our classes are
>serialization-incompatible with Sun's. If we could get this resolved,
>I'd be one happy real-world tester of Classpath. And if I were using it
To repeat my original reply, this is a big undertaking. I believe our
serialization framework is compatible with Sun's, with the exception of
possibly a couple 1.2 things. However, getting our classes compatible is
another thing entirely. We need to, on a class by class basis, do the
following:
-- Ensure that the class implements Serializable or Externalizable if it is
supposed to.
-- Add the correct serialVersionUID.
-- Verify that we have all the correct serialized variables. Add "@serial"
doc tags to them, and mark all other instance variables as "transient".
-- For those classes that require it, write the "readObject" and
"writeObject" (or "readExternal" and "writeExternal") methods. Verify these
are compatible with Sun.
-- Anything else I missed.
All new classes that are written should be done this way right from the
start. (Though I'll admit I'm skipping the read/write methods for now).
It should be possible to do this on an accelerated basis for the classes you
need. Things like this are what I am talking about when I say we should
concentrate on a great 1.1 API before delving in to more complex 1.2 things.
(Though I think plugging the 1.2 gaps in some of the packages we've already
written is a good idea).
As for your employer letting you work on Classpath, we need to make sure
this does not interfere with legal owernship of the code. Paul can give
better guidance on this.
--
Aaron M. Renn ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/
