On Sat, 1 Mar 2003 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

> Having a file encode <project>-<artifact>-<version>.type has been very useful 
> for us.
> �
> Yes, it's often different from what the project creates and distributes, but 
> I (and others)
> have been bitten by
> commons-logging.jar, struts.jar, junit.jar so many times, that seeing 
> log4j-1.2.5.jar is a
> godsend.

Yes, but I already mentioned that it can easily break features that work: 
if a project uses Classpath attributes in the manifest ( a legal option 
that simplifies setup - you may like it or not ) - then some things will 
stop working.
 
It will also break any script or program that creates classpaths by using
jar names. 

And it will break the explicit CLASSPATH env variables and manifest 
attributes once again every time you upgrade - since the jar name will 
change. 

It'll also break Ant build files that use the jar name - just do a grep 
on jakarta and you'll find how many they are.

All those problems can only be solved with the active participation
of the projects - by implementing whatever code is needed to support
filenames that change. For Classpath attributes - that's not possible,
so project will have to agree to stop using this (nice IMO ) feature.

It doesn't matter how nice the versioned filename may look or 
how much it can simplify maven code - if it breaks the code of the 
project ( sometimes in subtle ways - if ant or a project won't find a jar, 
it may disable a feature )

It is also redundant information - each jar has a well-defined Manifest 
that should include version. 

.so files are versioned - that would be the perfect argument to convince 
people to adopt this naming scheme. But think what happens if someone
takes a .so file that was shiped with an application, and renames it to
something he feels is nicer. The app will just stop working. You can't 
mess with a project distribution files without the risk of breaking 
something. 

Many people like this naming convention - but they can't impose it
to everyone. I'm more then willing to accept and support this naming 
scheme - my only condition is to be the result of an informed decision 
by the apache developer community. ( the breakages are just 2 simple
examples - there are many other arguments in both sides )

BTW - an important thing to keep in mind is that in many cases the
latest version of a .jar may fix security bugs - so it shouldn't
just pick the buggy jar. Having multiple versions of the same 
jar in a system creates huge problems.

Costin


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