Up to date syntax documentation?

Thu Oct 15 11:52:38 UTC 2015

On 14.10.15 18:48, Alan Bateman wrote:
> On 14/10/2015 17:14, Philippe Marschall wrote:
>> Hi
>>
>> I'm looking for an up to date syntax documentation for the
>> module-info.java. Specifically I'm looking for the syntax for optional
>> dependencies and specifying the main class. The most up to date
>> information I could find was [1] but this doesn't cover optional
>> dependencies. Googling suggests the following syntax
>>
>> require optional module-name;
>>
>> But this doesn't seem to work. Googling also suggests there is/was
>> syntax for specifying the main class but none of the example seem to
>> work anymore.
>
> The main project page [1] has links to all the current documents,
> including the draft "Modules in the Java Language and JVM" page.
>
> I suspect it may be a surprise but there isn't any support for optional
> dependences in the proposed design or prototype. At least for the JDK
> modularization effort then we've been able to mostly eliminate the
> original needs for this by moving to services.

Most of my needs for optional dependencies come from annotations. Three 
examples come to mind:
1. Lifecycle annotations like (javax.annotation): If code runs within 
some container often methods with such annotations are detected and 
automatically invoked at the right time. But if the same code runs 
outside a container the annotations are not needed and the methods can 
simply be invoked explicitly.
2. Additional type check annotations (eg. JSR-305): These annotations 
are not needed at runtime but still need to be in the class files for 
tools to perform static analysis. Generally all annotations with a 
retention policy of class are candidates for optional dependencies.
3. Mapping annotations: Sometimes classes have annotations for specific 
mapping technologies. But if they are used without these mapping 
technologies then the annotations are not needed at runtime.
> The module main class is not in the module declaration. If you are
> building a modular JAR then you can specify it to the jar command with
> --main-class $MAINCLASS. If the initial module is exploded on the file
> system then you can specify the main class to the java launcher with -m
> $MODULE/$MAINCLASS.

Where in the JAR does this information end up?
Cheers
Philippe