Hi all, Wanted a quick poll of thoughts on API changes. CDK does/has gone with the linux kernal style versioning (which they actually dropped in 2003) on odd numbers for unstable (dev version) and even numbers for stable (e.g. 1.4.x=stable,1.5.x=unstable).
I've been making an effort in 1.5.x to keep the API as stable as possible and pushing towards a more continuous release cycle. Having been on the receiving end of changes (such as the removal of IMolecule) I know it's no fun to try and keep up. Given previous design decisions, foresight, or dependency management API changes are sometimes needed. If possible we make a change that is backward compatible, for example, the default constructor of SMILESGenerator still works and mimics 1.4.x but is probably not what you want (canon no-stereochemistry). Other times a change will need to be destructive in which case I would prefer a new class/API written and the old one deprecated (but still make it available). Is the approach of adding new API and deprecate the old sound acceptable? Or are public API changes acceptable? Regards, John W May john.wilkinson...@gmail.com
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