> 1) Annotating a release requires a code change and a rebuild.

This can be annoying. I know there has been some discussion about a
possible "turn this snapshot into a release without actually
rebuilding anything, just changing metadata" plugin on this list but
don't believe anyone has built it yet.

> 2) Accepting dependencies.  If my project depends on a SNAPSHOT I get
> their latest and greatest.  Which is great I like continually
> integrating with my dependencies because we find problems early and fix
> them cheaply.  The problem is that when I find out a dependency has
> broken my project I have to wait for them to fix it before my project is
> fixed.  Add a bunch a dependencies and continual integration feels more
> like continual breakage.  I want to be able to test their drops and if
> they pass use them.

Can this be rephrased as "I want to be able to use SNAPSHOTs because I
like the positive side effects when things work right but I don't want
to deal with the negative consequences of depending on SNAPSHOTs when
things don't work right"?

How would you change things to accommodate your contrasting needs? Do
you have specific thoughts about how this might work? I could see this
being addressed by simply asking your dependencies to "please release
more often" if they have the ability to do so. Perhaps they can relase
a more stable nightly or weekly snapshot which has some degree of
testing vs what you are currently consuming. I'm not sure how Maven
can help with this.

> 3) Transitive dependencies.  A good half of my build breakages do not
> come from my direct dependencies.  Instead their dependencies break.

This only happens when you depend on SNAPSHOTs.

> Without any change in my dependency, the transitive dependencies can
> change.  My project did not bring these dependencies in, so we have no

Yes, this is prone to happen with SNAPSHOTs.

I'm not sure how Maven can help with these problems. Do you have
specific thoughts about how this might work? I agree there is merit in
some of this.

Wayne

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]

Reply via email to