001/*
002 * The contents of this file are subject to the terms of the Common Development and
003 * Distribution License (the License). You may not use this file except in compliance with the
004 * License.
005 *
006 * You can obtain a copy of the License at legal/CDDLv1.0.txt. See the License for the
007 * specific language governing permission and limitations under the License.
008 *
009 * When distributing Covered Software, include this CDDL Header Notice in each file and include
010 * the License file at legal/CDDLv1.0.txt. If applicable, add the following below the CDDL
011 * Header, with the fields enclosed by brackets [] replaced by your own identifying
012 * information: "Portions Copyright [year] [name of copyright owner]".
013 *
014 * Copyright 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
015 * Portions Copyright 2014 ForgeRock AS.
016 */
017package org.opends.server.types;
018
019
020
021
022
023/**
024 * This class implements an enumeration whose values may be used to
025 * indicate the stability level of API classes and/or methods.  Code
026 * which is part of the OpenDS public API should be marked with a
027 * {@code COMMITTED}, {@code UNCOMMITTED}, {@code VOLAITLE}, or
028 * {@code OBSOLETE} stability level in order to indicate the relative
029 * likelihood that the associated interface will be changed in an
030 * incompatible way in the future.
031 * <BR><BR>
032 * Third-party developers are free to create code that introduces
033 * dependencies on OpenDS APIs that are marked {@code COMMITTED},
034 * {@code UNCOMMITTED}, or {@code VOLATILE}, with an understanding
035 * that the less stable an OpenDS API is, the more likely that
036 * third-party code which relies upon it may need to be altered in
037 * order to work properly with future versions.
038 * <BR><BR>
039 * Changes to the stability level of a class or package should only be
040 * made between major releases and must be denoted in the release
041 * notes for all releases with that major version.  If a public API
042 * element that is marked {@code COMMITTED}, {@code UNCOMMITTED}, or
043 * {@code VOLATILE} is to be made private, it is strongly recommended
044 * that it first be transitioned to {@code OBSOLETE} before ultimately
045 * being marked {@code PRIVATE}.
046 * <BR><BR>
047 * New packages and classes introduced into the OpenDS code base may
048 * be assigned any stability level.  New methods introduced into
049 * existing classes that are part of the public API may be created
050 * with any stability level as long as the introduction of that method
051 * is compliant with the stability level of the class.  If a method
052 * that is part of the OpenDS public API is not marked with an
053 * explicit stability level, then it should be assumed that it has the
054 * same stability level as the class that contains it.
055 */
056@org.opends.server.types.PublicAPI(
057     stability=org.opends.server.types.StabilityLevel.UNCOMMITTED,
058     mayInstantiate=false,
059     mayExtend=false,
060     mayInvoke=true)
061public enum StabilityLevel
062{
063  /**
064   * The associated package, class, or method may be made available
065   * for third-party use, and the APIs that it exposes should be
066   * considered stable.  Incompatible changes may only be introduced
067   * between major versions, and even then such changes should be
068   * considered very rare and will require strong justification and
069   * be explicitly denoted in the release notes for all releases with
070   * that major version.
071   * <BR><BR>
072   * Note that interface changes may be allowed between non-major
073   * releases if they do not impact backward compatibility.
074   */
075  COMMITTED,
076
077
078
079  /**
080   * The associated package, class, or method may be made available
081   * for third-party use, and the APIs that it exposes may be
082   * considered moderately stable.  Incompatible changes may be
083   * introduced between major and/or minor versions, but only with
084   * strong justification and explicit denotation in the release notes
085   * for all subsequent releases with that major version.
086   * <BR><BR>
087   * Note that interface changes may be allowed between non-major and
088   * non-minor releases if they do not impact backward compatibility.
089   */
090  UNCOMMITTED,
091
092
093
094  /**
095   * The associated package, class, or method may be made available
096   * for third-party use, but the APIs that it exposes should not be
097   * considered stable.  Incompatible changes may be introduced
098   * between major, minor, and point versions, and may also be
099   * introduced in patches or hotfixes.  Any incompatible interface
100   * changes should be denoted in the release notes for all subsequent
101   * releases with that major version.
102   * <BR><BR>
103   * Note that if it is believed that a given class or interface will
104   * likely have incompatible changes in the future, then it should be
105   * declared with a stability level of {@code VOLATILE}, even if that
106   * those incompatible changes are expected to occur between major
107   * releases.
108   */
109  VOLATILE,
110
111
112
113  /**
114   * The associated package, class, or method should be considered
115   * obsolete, and no new code should be created that depends on it.
116   * The associated code may be removed in future versions without any
117   * additional prior notice.
118   */
119  OBSOLETE,
120
121
122
123  /**
124   * The associated package, class, or method should be considered
125   * part of the OpenDS private API and should not be used by
126   * third-party code.  No prior notice is required for incompatible
127   * changes to code with a {@code PRIVATE} classification.
128   */
129  PRIVATE;
130}
131