[MNG-7609] Clarify documentation of extension descriptor

• Type: Improvement
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Major
• Resolution: Fixed
• Fix Version/s: 4.0.0-alpha-3, 4.0.0
• Component/s: Core
• Assignee: Konrad Windszus
• Reporter: Konrad Windszus
• Created: 29/Nov/22 18:33
• Updated: 13/Dec/22 21:05
• Resolved: 05/Dec/22 09:06

Description

The extension descriptor is documented in https://maven.apache.org/ref/3-LATEST/maven-core/extension.html based on the MDO file at https://github.com/apache/maven/blob/master/maven-core/src/main/mdo/extension.mdo.
It is lacking important information such as

• how are subpackages and wildcards handled in exportedPackages?
• how can one export individual classes via exportedPackages (compare with https://github.com/apache/maven/blob/c6ecff9923088d854d4621e17d602f1c70dda806/maven-core/src/main/mdo/extension.mdo#L50)
• how are exportedPackages and exportedArtifacts related? Are they just merged or are they combined in some other way?

The better extension descriptor documentation should finally be linked also from https://github.com/apache/maven/blob/master/maven-core/src/site/apt/core-extensions.apt.vm, as well as from https://maven.apache.org/guides/mini/guide-maven-classloading.html#API_Classloader and https://maven.apache.org/guides/mini/guide-using-extensions.html

Issue Links

• relates to: MNG-5771 improved user-configurable core extensions mechanism
• links to: GitHub Pull Request #896