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Re: Fixing "typos" in enums...

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On 18.11.2013 18:29, Andreas Leitgeb wrote:
> Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> wrote:
>>>    // public enum Foo { FURST, SECOND }
>>>    public enum Foo { FIRST, SECOND; public static final FURST = FIRST; }
>>> Any user having done a switch over that enum will still
>>> need to modify his code. Ditto anyone doing string comparisons
>>> on foo.name(), but that is most probably a bad idea, anyway.
>
>> Not at all: a String could be read from some configuration file or
>> database and then the corresponding enum value searched via valueOf() or
>> values().
>
> Fair enough. De-serialization from some persistent storage sure is
> a legit task, that would suffer from such an API-change.
>
> Basic Object-(de)serialization would be less of a problem, as that is
> already specified as unsuitable for long-time storage.

Well, but it *can* be used for that purpose which means it *will* be. 
And telling them "it's your fault" is often not a good option as there 
can be numerous ugly ways that can backfire...

>> A published API is basically set in stone.  Keeping the wrong value
>> might actually be the best option.
>
> I just don't yet want to accept it, even though I can't refute it. ;-)

:-)  At the university we had a lecture about exactly this kind of 
problem and other issues specific to API changes in OO languages. 
Unfortunately I neither remember the professor's nor the lecture's name 
to dig up some pointers.  What I took away was that sentence ("...set in 
stone") and that there is quite a number of surprising and subtle ways 
failure can be caused by API changes.  That had two effects: it made me 
think thrice whenever I am tempted to change an API; and I try to give 
extra thought whenever I am designing an API (not only the public ones 
as often all of a sudden what has been private becomes public).

Kind regards

	robert

-- 
remember.guy do |as, often| as.you_can - without end
http://blog.rubybestpractices.com/

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Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-15 16:25 +0000
  Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... markspace <markspace@nospam.nospam> - 2013-11-15 09:05 -0800
    Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-18 17:20 +0000
      Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... markspace <markspace@nospam.nospam> - 2013-11-18 09:33 -0800
        Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2013-11-18 13:37 -0500
        Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-18 18:58 +0000
          Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... markspace <markspace@nospam.nospam> - 2013-11-18 11:35 -0800
            Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-18 20:34 +0000
  Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2013-11-15 20:10 +0100
    Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-18 17:29 +0000
      Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2013-11-18 19:38 +0100
        Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-18 19:34 +0000
  Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Jan Burse <janburse@fastmail.fm> - 2013-11-16 10:16 +0100
    Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-18 18:25 +0000
      Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2013-11-18 13:45 -0500
        Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2013-11-18 20:20 +0100
        Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-18 20:09 +0000
          Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2013-11-18 17:00 -0500
            Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2013-11-19 15:39 +0000
  Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... Arivald <NOSPAMarivald@interia.pl> - 2013-11-19 00:29 +0100
    Re: Fixing "typos" in enums... lipska the kat <"lipskathekat at yahoo dot co dot uk"> - 2013-11-19 11:14 +0000

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