Release 1.6.1 of the Checker Framework and Type Annotations compiler

[Jonathan Burke]

We have released a new version of the Type Annotations (JSR 308) compiler,

the Checker Framework, and the Eclipse plugin for the Checker Framework.

 * The Type Annotations compiler supports the type annotation syntax that is

   planned for a future version of the Java language.

 * The Checker Framework lets you create and/or run pluggable type-checkers,

   in order to detect and prevent bugs in your code.  

 * The Eclipse plugin makes it more convenient to run the Checker Framework.

You can find documentation and download links for these projects at:

http://types.cs.washington.edu/jsr308/

Changes for the Checker Framework

User-visible framework improvements:

  A number of error messages have been clarified

  Stub file now supports type annotations in front and after method type variable declarations.

  You may now specify custom paths to javac.jar and jdk7.jar on the command line for non-standard installations.

Internal framework improvements:

  Adapt to underlying jsr308-langtools changes

  Add shouldBeApplied method to avoid unnecessary scans in DefaultApplier and avoid annotating void types

  Add createQualifierDefaults and createQualifierPolymorphism factory methods

Maven plugin:

  Put checker framework jars at the beginning of classpath

  Added option to compile code in order to support checking for multi-module projects

  The plugin no longer copies the various Checker Framework maven artifacts to one location but instead takes advantage of the new custom path options for javac.jar and jdk7.jar

  The maven plugin no longer attempts to resolve jdk6.jar

  

Eclipse plugin:

  Put checker framework jars at the beginning of classpath.

  All files selected from a single project can now be checked.  The previous behavior only checked the entire project or one file depending on the type of the first file selected.

  

Documentation:

  Fixed broken links and incomplete URLs in checker-framework manual

  Update FAQ to discuss conflicting interpretations of array declarations

  

Bug fixes

Changes for the Type Annotations Compiler

This email lists changes made to the IMPLEMENTATION.

For changes to the SPECIFICATION, see file jsr308-changes.html.

Base build

  Updated to OpenJDK 8 tl/langtools and type-annotations/langtools

  as of 1 Mar 2013.