Anarchy in the API
With LibreOffice 4 bound to finally sport an incompatible UNO API, there is naturally a desire to keep the past on board nevertheless, so that, e.g., old LibreOffice/OpenOffice.org extensions could continue to work unmodified.
Details of the Talk
With LibreOffice 4 bound to finally sport an incompatible UNO API, there is naturally a desire to keep the past on board nevertheless. UNO's central notion of bridging suggests it to be a useful means to bridge between old and new worlds. So that, e.g., old LibreOffice/OpenOffice.org extensions could continue to work unmodified in LibreOffice 4.
We will look at some strategies how to implement such bridging. From manually writing explicit bridge code to automatically deriving a bridge from UNOIDL annotations that describe how an API actually changed.
However, we will also offset the benefits of such bridging against its costs. Determine whether dragging along the past is more of a help or more of a burden.
This talk will also illuminate the larger context of how incompatible LibreOffice 4 is actually taking shape.