[OpenLayers-Dev] v3 branch on GitHub for deprecation & API changes

[Andreas Hocevar]

Hi,

a lot of work has been done this year to make the library faster and smaller. All this is basically work that was originally planned for the 3.0 version, but was implemented without breaking the API.

In my opinion, for a new major version, the main goal is to create a slick API. I am also in favor of making components like the Format classes conveniently usable outside the context of an OpenLayers map (e.g. to support 3D mapping projects like WebGL Earth), as well as making OpenLayers geometry functions an optional component that can entirely be replaced e.g. by JSTS, similar to what we now do with projections and proj4js.

Once we have the slick API, a compatibility layer can be created to make upgrading easier. Ideally, the new API should be created during a code sprint. Looking together at a whiteboard and designing the new API on it is much easier with everybody focussed and in the same room.

Removing deprecated code is a low hanging fruit and could already be done now in a development branch. But instead of merely removing code, I'd be in favor of an approach that moves deprecated functions/methods to separate files, so that they can still be included in a build. By doing so, we're already one step closer to the compatibility layer I mentioned above, and I don't think it means much extra effort.
 
Andreas.

On Nov 4, 2011, at 11:04 , Peter Robins wrote:

> what's the status with v3 in general? We had a v3 branch last year on
> github, but it seems to have disappeared. There's a page on trac
> http://trac.osgeo.org/openlayers/wiki/Release/3.0 but contains a lot
> of duff links.
> 
> There was quite a bit of discussion last year about it, but this year
> it hardly seems to have been mentioned.
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-- 
Andreas Hocevar
OpenGeo - http://opengeo.org/
Expert service straight from the developers.