[ImageJ-devel] Preparing Fiji for the upcoming changes in ImageJ2's components

[Johannes Schindelin]

Hi all,

I just uploaded a new Fiji Updater and fiji-compat version. The reason is
solely to prepare better for recent changes in the development version of
ImageJ2: it was split into more modularized components, each living in its
own source code repository and versioned in a meaningful manner (i.e. it
will no longer be necessary to make full-blown release of all components
just because of a critical bug fix in, say, the updater core).

There was also another huge change: all the packages were switched from
imagej.* to net.imagej.*. This is what the new versions guard for: they
handle both the new and the old package names, therefore it works with
both the ImageJ2 components currently available from the ImageJ update
site, as well as with the components that will be uploaded there soon.

I tried really, really hard to retain backwards-compatibility, even to the
point where some of the old code has been put back with @Deprecated
annotations (which some developers might object to, considering it
inelegant, when the alternative would be to have user-visible breakages).
To state the obvious, I tested in multiple ways, with multiple update
sites enabled, and with multiple computers using all of the supported
Operating Systems.

However, things can always go less smoothly than intended, even after
spending a full week intended to prevent desasters.

So, as always, please ignore the Fiji Updater's nudging when you are
finishing up critical work for a publication or require Fiji to work
precisely as this past week for other reasons. And also as always, please
let us know if you encounter any problems.

Ciao,
Johannes