mbien commented on PR #5609: URL: https://github.com/apache/netbeans/pull/5609#issuecomment-1464846324
nb-javac allows the java editor to run on JDKs which are older than the JDK the editor modules were linked against. It is purely a bytecode level backport and is optional if NB is run on the _right_ JDK (same version as the one nb-javac was based on). Community installers for example could easily bundle NB without nb-javac in it, even NB itself could [download a runtime JDK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uEIqAd2JBk) and completely drop the nb-javac dependency some time in future. I don't see what problem this PR is solving beside adding complexity and an indirection to the build process. Soon we will switch to building/testing on JDK 21 EA and part of the test is using the EA compiler too. The javac of the JDK works just fine and we make sure it builds on all LTS versions. Again: nb-javac is just a dependency for some modules, we don't have to bootstrap the whole project with it. NetBeans is more than just the java editor which currently relies on nb-javac. nb-javac is currently also not in this repository (or even an apache project unless I miss something obvious), so I am not sure what you mean by "eat your own dog food". I would not want to see this added to the project since I frankly don't see a reason for it. If the nb-javac project needs more tests, why can't nb-javac host the ant task (maven plugin?) and build a larger project there in CI? We should rather concentrate on upgrading everything to JDK 11 which actually solves problems and has likely community consensus as I gather from the last thread about it. @neilcsmith-net drafted a proposal for this. Further, a change like this (swapping out the compiler) would require more discussion on the dev list anyway - and a vote IMO. -- This is an automated message from the Apache Git Service. To respond to the message, please log on to GitHub and use the URL above to go to the specific comment. To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For queries about this service, please contact Infrastructure at: [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] For further information about the NetBeans mailing lists, visit: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/NETBEANS/Mailing+lists
