18 June 2008

Enforcing package dependencies

For sometime I've wanted a tool that would let me enforce package dependencies (directed acyclic graphs). Currently I can only do this in IntelliJ IDEA, or Maven, by splitting my packages out into separate modules. However this leads to too many modules. Googling has brought up two possibilities.

Structure101 looks awesome but costs a lot, still it looks like a valuable tool for a commercial development team. Its a server-based tool that comes with IDE plugins.

Japan and Macker seem like cheap and cheerful open-source tools that are simple to use, as they rely on a configuration file that can be placed into source control alongside the actual source code to which it relates. I think I'll give Japan a go, as its simple enough for my needs. Andy@Gigantiq discusses them in detail at:

Enforcing Package Dependencies (Part 4)
Enforcing Package Dependencies (Part 3)
Enforcing Package Dependencies (Part 2)
Enforcing Package Dependencies (Part 1)