07: Access Control - The Saga Continues

17 April 2017

Access Control Roller Coaster

• First came the private/fileprivate change (SE-0025): https://github.com/apple/swift-evolution/blob/master/proposals/0025-scoped-access-level.md
• Then came open (SE-0117): https://github.com/apple/swift-evolution/blob/master/proposals/0117-non-public-subclassable-by-default.md
• For the last few weeks, a faction in the community has been proposing undoing it (SE-0159): https://github.com/apple/swift-evolution/blob/master/proposals/0159-fix-private-access-levels.md
  • Wow. Such email. Very list. https://twitter.com/swiftlybrief/status/846938309666492417
• Rejection email: https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution-announce/2017-April/000337.html
• Doug Gregor opens discussion for expanding private: https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170403/034903.html
• David Hart, with a new proposal from Doug’s suggestions: https://github.com/apple/swift-evolution/pull/668
• http://www.jessesquires.com/thoughts-on-swift-access-control/

Modules

• Features shouldn’t be designed and deliberated in isolation. Decisions need to be holistic and forward-thinking. It’s the project management equivalent of ABI resilience. “Design Resilience”.
• Robert Widmann’s draft modules proposal: https://gist.github.com/CodaFi/cd66b7d70b5cd8e4e8b433fa2ace378a
  • fileprivate access can be recreated by creating a private “utility submodule” containing declarations of at least internal access.

###Thank You

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