Managing Change

Neil Bartlett Weigle Wilczek UK http://neilbartlett.name/blog Managing Change Mirko Jahn InterComponentWare AG, Germany http://osgi.mjahn.net

Agenda
Where are we?
What we are working with
Versioning in practice
Tool support
Open challenges

Heraclitus Ephesius (* 535 BC; † 475 BC ) “ Nothing endures but change.“

Unknown Chinese Dude “ May you live in interesting times.”

Dealing with Change

How Microsoft does it
+ Unique version numbers
+ Fixed dependencies
+ Assembly cache
Assembly qualified names
Versioning only on assemblies (not namespaces)
No flexible dependencies
No dynamism

Doing it the Java way
Jars as unit of reuse (packaging)
Assumed always backwards compatible
No enforced dependency model
No built-in multi version support
No runtime (except for Applets and JEE)
No dynamism anticipated, but possible with limitations

OSGi’s answer (in 2 slides)
Thin layer on top of (plain) Java
Enriched meta data to thoroughly describe the unit of reuse called bundle aka jar with:
Required dependencies
Exposed APIs
Runtime requirements
Strong version support
…
Sophisticated runtime to enforce modularity

OSGi’s answer (in 2 slides)
In JVM services (Object references) to decouple API from implementation
Module dependencies designed on bundle and/ or package level
Import-Package vs. Require-Bundle header
Exposed API with Export-Package Header
Versioning theme: [[[[Major].Minor].Build].Revision] like: 1.3.2.iter1234
Ranges to flexibly define dependencies

OSGi in Action a use case scenario

Evolving APIs
Simple sample of a dictionary service
Taken from the Eclipse PDE sample
starting with 2 interfaces in package dictionary…
Implementation details:
Separation in two bundles (impl and api)
Dependencies on package level
User/ Client will be a simple command extension to proof the point
V.1.0.0

Evolving APIs
The implementation looks like this:
dictionary.api 1.0.0 dictionary 1.0.0 dictionary.impl 1.0.0 [1.0.0,1.1.0) cl.client 1.0.0 [1.0.0,2.0.0) register s: dictionary.DictionaryService bind

Evolving APIs
Small changes were introduced in the second version…
V.1.1.0

Evolving APIs dictionary.api 1.0.0 dictionary 1.0.0 dictionary.impl 1.0.0 [1.0.0,1.1.0) cl.client 1.0.0 [1.0.0,2.0.0) register bind dictionary.api 1.1.0 dictionary 1.1.0 dictionary.impl 1.1.0 [1.0.0,1.2.0) or register cl.client 1.1.0 [1.1.0,2.0.0) may bind [1.0.0,2.0.0) or or

And in “real world”
Few people are using OSGi in such a highly dynamic fashion (yet)
Mostly the “is this bundle compatible with me” feature of versions is used and bundles get statically deployed as a product.
Getting versions right is tough!!! Currently we only version exports. Imports only if we really know what we are doing and require this feature
Typical problems you’re facing on a daily basis:
What dependency is it? API, Impl or Client?
Syntactic vs. Semantic incompatibilities
Method/ property shadowing in forward compatibility
Wrong/ incompatible versioned artifacts in official repositories

OSGi Issues and Questions

Gotcha Number 1
Any qualifier is “higher” than no qualifier.
Example: ROME (RSS/Atom library), an OSGi bundle developed by Sun Microsystems.
Release Candidate: Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.RC1
Release: Bundle-Version: 1.0.0
This default is surprising for new OSGi users.
Other systems (e.g. Maven, Jigsaw) use the opposite default.

Related Gotcha: Remember your A,B,Cs
Release Candidate: Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.RC1
Release: Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.Final
Using “RC” doesn't leave enough space.
Recommendation: use Alpha, Beta, Candidate and Final.
May clash with existing corporate processes and policies for naming releases.
Or, just use a date/time stamp on each build. This is the Eclipse approach, but makes it hard to identify release versions.

Gotcha Number 2
Beta 1: Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.Beta1
Beta 2: Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.Beta2
…
Beta 10: Bundle-Version 1.0.0.Beta10
Oops, 10 < 2!
Recommendation: zero-pad numbers in the qualifier, e.g. Beta01 .
Are 99 betas enough...?
.Net does not allow alphanumeric characters in versions at all.

Gotcha Number 3
Import-Package: org.foo; version=”1.0.0”
Accepts 1.0.0 to Infinity!
Do we really want to accept ALL future versions of org.foo?
Is this an appropriate default?

Choosing an Import Range (1)
Import-Package: org.apache.log4j;version=”[1.2,1.3)”
Informally 1.2.*. Will match all future versions up to but not including 1.3.
The most common choice. But this is a forward-looking statement .
But what if 1.2.32 (released in 2014 after the acquisition of Switzerland by OraGoogSunBay) breaks compatibility?
Cannot retrospectively change the released bundle. Must release a new version of our bundle with different import ranges.

Choosing an Import Range (2)
Play it safe? Versions 1.2.13, 1.2.14 and 1.2.15 have been tested and are known to work, so:
Import-Package: org.apache.log4j;version=”[1.2.13,1.2.15]”
What if 1.2.16 is released tomorrow and is absolutely fine?
What if another bundle requires version 1.2.12?
Tight version ranges cause fragmentation.

No Disjoint Ranges
Cannot say Import-Package: org.foo;version=”[1.0.0,2.0.0)” excluding 1.2 because it is buggy
Should we allow definition of disjoint ranges?
E.g. “[1.0,1.2) && [1.3,2.0)”
Makes a complex area even more complex.
Again cannot retrospectively add the exclusion.

Lack of Semantics
The semantics of a version change are arbitrary.
Is version 1.3 of Log4J compatible with version 1.2?
There are suggested semantics but every library must be checked for compliance (and may stop complying at any time).
Only the authors of a library truly know whether 1.3 is backwards compatible.

Idea: Reverse the Ranges?
Idea originally suggested by Peter Kriens to CPEG
Make exporters specify a range, not importers
E.g. Export-Package: “[1.0.0, 1.4.0]”
Meaning: “this is version 1.4 and it is compatible back to 1.0”.
Should importers still import a range, where any intersection in ranges will match?

Non-Standard Semantics on Versions
Usually higher means better, but not always
E.g. Linux kernel, 1.1 and 1.3 are unstable, 1.0 and 1.2 are stable.
In production we should favour 1.2.18 over 1.3.1.
But in an lab/development environment we may favour 1.3.1
Do we need system policies defined by a deployer or administrator?
How on Earth could we manage such a policy if we have 1000s of packages?
A rule-based system may be necessary.
.Net allows limited overriding using a “publisher policy file”.

Bundle Repositories

Getting Bundles
Most 3 rd party libraries are STILL not OSGi bundles
Even if they are, they may have poor-quality metadata (e.g. ROME)
OSGifying libraries ourselves is a major drag

Bundle Repositories
Some vendors have created bundle repositories with many open source libraries (e.g. SpringSource, Sonatype)
But how reliable are they?
If a bundle says Import-Package: org.foo;version=”[1.0,2.0)” , did the bundle creator really test every version in that range?
If not, where does this range come from? Did they just guess?
Who can I sue if it breaks??

Verified Repositories
There is scope for a vendor to provide a truly verified repository backed by testing.
Probably needs to be a paid service – somebody who can be sued
What does it mean to test a library?
Need to support revocation when bundles are found to have problems

Enhanced Querying
Existing repositories answer queries based on bundle name, package name, etc.
Can we partially offload resolving to the repository?

Tooling support

BND
Created by Peter Kriens, now under the Apache Felix umbrella (ASF 2.0 license)
Swiss Army Knife for bundle generation
Can be used as:
Command line tool
Eclipse plug-in
Ant task
Maven goal
Templating mechanism for version ranges
Source code analysis for imports
DS support
Macros

BND
A sample configuration for the Maven plug-in (shortened):
...
< plugin >
< groupId > org . apache . felix </ groupId >
< artifactId > maven -bundle- plugin </ artifactId >
< extensions > true </ extensions >
< configuration >
< manifestLocation > META-INF </ manifestLocation >
< instructions >

< _plugin > aQute. lib .spring.SpringComponent </ _plugin >
< Export-Package > ${ osgi .export.package} </ Export-Package >
< Private-Package > ${ osgi .private.package} </ Private-Package >
</ instructions >
</ configuration >
</ plugin >
...

Bundlor
SpringSource’s tool to create Manifest files only
Mainly a template mechanism
The tool to use when contributing artifacts to their repo
Can be used as:
Command line tool
Eclipse plug-in
Ant task
Maven goal
Templating mechanism for version ranges
Source code analysis for imports
OSGi Profiles

Bundlor
A sample configuration for the Maven plug-in (taken from SpringSource):
Manifest-Version: 1.0
Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
Bundle-Name: GreenPages Service
Bundle-SymbolicName: greenpages
Bundle-Vendor: SpringSource Inc.
Bundle-Version: 1.0
Import-Template:org.springframework.*;version="[2.5.6.A,3.0)
Excluded-Exports: greenpages.internal

Eclipse PDE
Manifest centric development of bundles
Many wizards and custom views to get you started
Live validation of your configuration based on the target platform definition
Integrated runtime to test you bundles without packaging them
Issues with fragments during development
Headless built possible
API tooling support…

Eclipse PDE – API analysis support
Baseline centric API comparison mechanisms
Enriched with annotations
Eclipse and Ant support
Automated version increase according to the Eclipse versioning scheme possible
Identity leakage of non-API types into API
Many features are currently developed and will be included in Eclipse 3.5
Based on source code and generated meta data
OSGi aware

Eclipse PDE – API analysis support

jDiff
Source code based analysis
Can be used as Ant task, Maven goal or Command Line tool
Different types of reports like JavaDoc and XML
No OSGi awareness

Remaining Questions
Versioning is not entirely explored
There is no suitable version scheme officially defined (no standard)
What is binary compatible
What is back-/ upwards compatible
In the context of OSGi how do dependency affect compatibility?
How to ensure the correctness of the applied versions?
Dynamic applications need new strategies for testing. How could one ensure the compatibility with the future versions and rule out incompatibilities for an almost infinite set of bundle combinations
How to ensure a bundle satisfies its version definition? (Certification?)

State of the Art
NO existing tool can manage:
1000s of packages
Multiple versions of each
Sensible import ranges
Different import range policies for different providers

Conclusion
OSGi opens new opportunities, not imaginable before
Sophisticated versioning support available
A runtime that leverages using different versions, while guaranteeing compatibility as far as possible (if done right)
Still, the field is not entirely explored and needs further research
What implies a version is not satisfyingly defined
How to ensure software quality in a dynamic world
Tools are not there yet to remove the burden from the developer

Questions & Answers Neil Bartlett Weigle Wilczek UK http://neilbartlett.name/blog Mirko Jahn InterComponentWare AG, Germany http://osgi.mjahn.net ?

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Managing Change

by Mirko Jahn

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by Mirko Jahn

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