JDiff Documentation

JDiff is a Javadoc doclet which generates a report of the API differences between two versions of a product. It does not report changes in Javadoc comments, or changes in what a class or method does. This help page describes the different parts of the output from JDiff.

See the reference page in the source for JDiff for information about how to generate a report like this one.

The indexes shown in the top-left frame help show each type of change in more detail. The index "All Differences" contains all the differences between the APIs, in alphabetical order. These indexes all use the same format:

• Removed packages, classes, constructors, methods and fields are struck through .
• Added packages, classes, constructors, methods and fields appear in bold.
• Changed packages, classes, constructors, methods and fields appear in normal text.

You can always tell when you are reading a JDiff page, rather than a Javadoc page, by the color of the index bar and the color of the background. Links which take you to a Javadoc page are always in a typewriter font. Just like Javadoc, all interface names are in italic, and class names are not italicized. Where there are multiple entries in an index with the same name, the heading for them is also in italics, but is not a link.

Javadoc

This is a link to the top-level Javadoc page for the new version of the product.

Overview

The overview is the top-level summary of what was removed, added and changed between versions.

Package

This is a link to the package containing the current changed class or interface.

Class

This is highlighted when you are looking at the changed class or interface.

Text Changes

This is a link to the top-level index of all documentation changes for the current package or class. If it is not present, then there are no documentation changes for the current package or class. This link can be removed entirely by not using the -docchanges option.

Statistics

This is a link to a page which shows statistics about the changes between the two APIs. This link can be removed entirely by not using the -stats option.

Help

A link to this Help page for JDiff.

Prev/Next

These links take you to the previous and next changed package or class.

Frames/No Frames

These links show and hide the HTML frames. All pages are available with or without frames.

Complex Changes

There are some complex changes which can occur between versions, for example, when two or more methods with the same name change simultaneously, or when a method or field is moved into or from a superclass. In these cases, the change will be seen as a removal and an addition, rather than as a change. Unexpected removals or additions are often part of one of these type of changes.