Consider alternative for <javadocXmlFiles> for post JDK 8 era

[pekuz]

Hi typescript-generator developers,

com.github.markusbernhardt:xml-doclet struggles to get JDK 11 compatible.

-- MarkusBernhardt/xml-doclet#14

I have not found another generator to the xml-doclet format.

Consider other API documentation sources.

[vojtechhabarta]

Some time ago I rewrote xml-doclet using new Javadoc APIs (MarkusBernhardt/xml-doclet#17) but it seems original author is not interested in this tool anymore. So one possibility would be to create fork and release it under different maven coordinates.

Any other suggestions?

[pekuz]

As for known alternatives, it is a hard question.

The JDK 11 generated HTML has stable id marks at beginning but extracting matched block till end and processing it is not very realistic.
There is Dokka tool that outputs from Kotlin and Java to more formats but again likely not designed for a post processing.

Generally many doclet projects have not survived the JDKs transition to module system. Like the extreme alternate doclet, https://github.com/dspinellis/UMLGraph, mentioned in Maven Javadoc plugin.

So actually the alternative you mention is not worst given the deserted ecosystem of post-JDK 8 doclets.

[pekuz]

Actually, what about eliminating JavaDoc intermediate format. The typescript generator could extract the JavaDoc comments using its internal doclet for post JDK 11.

I'm assuming that Doclet API will not receive breaking changes earlier than other APIs/formats/tools.

[cbrethes]

this is an old subject, but I'm back using this lovely typescript-generator and faced that problem. I made a suitable fork of project com.github.markusbernhardt:xml-doclet at https://github.com/cbrethes/xml-doclet and made it work using jdk 11... Its not yet on maven central, but if interested you can compile it very quickly and get it works, at least locally

[vojtechhabarta]

@cbrethes thanks for your effort but I think we would need something which would also work on new Java versions. Two years ago I rewrote the doclet using new Javadoc API (MarkusBernhardt/xml-doclet#17). You can use it in your fork if you want.

[horneber]

If anyone is looking at this issue and wondering about a resolution, https://github.com/manticore-projects/xml-doclet has a JDK11 compatible alternative. It seems to be based on the work @vojtechhabarta mentioned earlier in this thread. 👍

See MarkusBernhardt/xml-doclet#17 (comment)

[fleipold]

In the past I have used https://github.com/paul-hammant/qdox to extract javadoc comments. It might also not have kept up with the latest developments, but it might be less hassle to call it directly rather than going via the javadoc tool.

[KKuehlem]

I recently ran into the same issue as described here. Is there a good workaround solution for JDK 17+ or are there plans for this plugin to add official support newer Java versions?

[manoelcampos]

Check https://github.com/manticore-projects/xml-doclet.
It was upgraded and works with JDKs 17, 21 and 23.