Re: Potential minor API change notice

["Ludovic Courtès" <ludo@gnu.org>]

Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com> skribis:

> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com> skribis:
>>
>>> This is a heads up to let you know that the
>>> %BASE-PACKAGES-DISK-UTILITIES public variable exported from (gnu system)
>>> may be removed in the near future.
>>
>> If the patch eventually gets consensus, I would suggest making that
>> variable an alias using ‘define-deprecated’: that way people will know
>> about it and code won’t break.
>
> An deprecated alias to what?

To ‘%base-packages’ for example?  It doesn’t really matter.

What’s important is to never ever remove a public variable, or change
the signature of a public procedure, without prior deprecation period
(at least for interfaces that one may use in their System or Home config
files.)

gnu/{services,packages}/*.scm contain bindings that have been deprecated
for years.  That’s probably excessive, but lack of a deprecation period
would unnecessarily upset fellow users and then we’d have to channel
their anger.  :-)

Ludo’.