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c#backwards-compatibility
Gusty_Ninja
Gusty_Ninja

Reputation: 39

C# class backward compatibility

I have a NuGet package that is been used by some projects internally. Now, while refactoring the project, I found several classes that were named inappropriately. I want to know if there is any way in C# change the class names and not break anything.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 670

Answers (2)

Igor
Igor

Reputation: 62298

What you do depends on the extent of the changes. If the types with the changed names are not simple types (ie. have a lot of behavior) or are used throughout your package it can be very difficult to create a copy of the type because you also have to ensure the code can use either type (for a while anyways).

A simpler solution might be to branch your package and increment the major version number in the new branch. In the "new" branch: Update the type names, document the breaking changes, and push a release as a new version. You can then maintain both branches until you see fit to stop work on the "older" branch. In the "older" branch you can also mark types as deprecated with a warning that in the future version they will have a changed name.

Upvotes: 1

Zereges
Zereges

Reputation: 5209

There is no way to rename identifiers without breaking other people code. The best thing you can do is to leave clAssNaME identifier, provide new ClassName and mark clAssNaME as deprecated. Publish new release with documented and highlighted changelog.

When you're confident enough that most people managed to fix their code, delete the clAssNaME.

Upvotes: 2

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