# PMD 7.0.0 development

We’re excited to bring you the next major version of PMD! Here is a summary of what is planned for PMD 7.

To give us feedback or to suggest a new feature, drop us a line on Gitter!

## Summary

### New Logo

We decided it’s time to have a modernized logo and get rid of the gun. This allows to include the logo in anywhere without offense.

The current tasks are listed here: Integrate new PMD logo #1931

### API

The API of PMD has been growing over the years and needs to be cleaned up. The goal is, to have a clear separation between a well-defined API and the implementation, which is internal. This should help us in future development. This however entails some incompatibilities and deprecations, see also the sections New API support guidelines and [Planned API removals](#planned-api-removals] below.

### Full Antlr Support

PMD 6 only supports JavaCC based grammars, but with Antlr parsers can be generated as well. PMD 7 adds full support for grammars written in Antlr, which allows to leverage existing grammars.

The current tasks are listed here: Support for ANTLR based grammars with Swift as an example language #2499

### Documentation

We have quite some ideas how we want to improve the documentation. The goal is, that the documentation is up to date and nearly complete. One big task is, how the built-in rules are presented, so that users can easier see, what exactly is available and decide, which rules are useful for the project at hand.

The current tasks are listed here: Documentations improvements tracker #1139

### XPath

PMD 6 supports XPath 1.0 via the Jaxen library. This library is old and unmaintained creating some problems (one of which is duplicated classes in the package `org.w3c.dom` which is a Java API actually). Therefore XPath 1.0 support will be dropped and we upgrade our XPath 2.0 implementation with Saxon moving on to Saxon HE. This will eventually add support in PMD for XPath 3.1.

The current tasks are listed here: XPath Improvements for PMD 7 #2523

### Java

Like the main PMD API, the Java AST has been growing over time and the grammar doesn’t support all edge cases (e.g. annotation are not supported everywhere). The goal is to simplify the AST by reducing unnecessary nodes and abstractions and fix the parsing issues. This helps in the end to provide a better type resolution implementation, but changing the AST is a breaking API change.

Some first results of the Java AST changes are for now documented in the Wiki: Java clean changes.

### Miscellaneous

There are also some small improvements, refactoring and internal tasks that are planned for PMD 7.

The current tasks are listed here: PMD 7 Miscellaneous Tasks #2524

## New API support guidelines

### What’s new

Until now, all released public members and types were implicitly considered part of PMD’s public API, including inheritance-specific members (protected members, abstract methods). We have maintained those APIs with the goal to preserve full binary compatibility between minor releases, only breaking those APIs infrequently, for major releases.

In order to allow PMD to move forward at a faster pace, this implicit contract will be invalidated with PMD 7.0.0. We now introduce more fine-grained distinctions between the type of compatibility support we guarantee for our libraries, and ways to make them explicit to clients of PMD.

#### `.internal` packages and `@InternalApi` annotation

Internal API is meant for use only by the main PMD codebase. Internal types and methods may be modified in any way, or even removed, at any time.

Any API in a package that contains an `.internal` segment is considered internal. The `@InternalApi` annotation will be used for APIs that have to live outside of these packages, e.g. methods of a public type that shouldn’t be used outside of PMD (again, these can be removed anytime).

#### `@ReservedSubclassing`

Types marked with the `@ReservedSubclassing` annotation are only meant to be subclassed by classes within PMD. As such, we may add new abstract methods, or remove protected methods, at any time. All published public members remain supported. The annotation is not inherited, which means a reserved interface doesn’t prevent its implementors to be subclassed.

#### `@Experimental`

APIs marked with the `@Experimental` annotation at the class or method level are subject to change. They can be modified in any way, or even removed, at any time. You should not use or rely on them in any production code. They are purely to allow broad testing and feedback.

#### `@Deprecated`

APIs marked with the `@Deprecated` annotation at the class or method level will remain supported until the next major release but it is recommended to stop using them.

### The transition

All currently supported APIs will remain so until 7.0.0. All APIs that are to be moved to `.internal` packages or hidden will be tagged `@InternalApi` before that major release, and the breaking API changes will be performed in 7.0.0.

## Planned API removals

### List of currently deprecated APIs

Warning: This list is not exhaustive. The ultimate reference is whether an API is tagged as `@Deprecated` or not in the latest minor release. During the development of 7.0.0, we may decide to remove some APIs that were not tagged as deprecated, though we’ll try to avoid it.

#### 6.46.0

##### Deprecated ruleset references

Ruleset references with the following formats are now deprecated and will produce a warning when used on the CLI or in a ruleset XML file:

- `<lang-name>-<ruleset-name>`, eg `java-basic`, which resolves to `rulesets/java/basic.xml`
- the internal release number, eg `600`, which resolves to `rulesets/releases/600.xml`

Use the explicit forms of these references to be compatible with PMD 7.

##### Deprecated API

- `toString` is now deprecated. The format of this method will remain the same until PMD 7. The deprecation is intended to steer users away from relying on this format, as it may be changed in PMD 7.
- `getInputPaths` and `setInputPaths` are now deprecated. A new set of methods have been added, which use lists and do not rely on comma splitting.

##### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- `CPDCommandLineInterface` has been internalized. In order to execute CPD either `CPD#run` or `CPD#main` should be used.
- Several members of `BaseCPDCLITest` have been deprecated with replacements.
- The methods `Formatter#start`, `Formatter#end`, `Formatter#getRenderer`, and `Formatter#isNoOutputSupplied` have been internalized.

#### 6.45.0

##### Experimental APIs

- Report has two new methods which allow limited mutations of a given report:
  - `Report#filterViolations` creates a new report with some violations removed with a given predicate based filter.
  - `Report#union` can combine two reports into a single new Report.
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.util.Predicate` will be replaced in PMD7 with the standard Predicate interface from java8.
- The module `pmd-html` is entirely experimental right now. Anything in the package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.html` should be used cautiously.

#### 6.44.0

##### Deprecated API

- Several members of `PMD` have been newly deprecated, including:
  - `PMD#EOL`: use `System#lineSeparator()`
  - `PMD#SUPPRESS_MARKER`: use `DEFAULT_SUPPRESS_MARKER`
  - `PMD#processFiles`: use the new programmatic API
  - `PMD#getApplicableFiles`: is internal
- `PMDConfiguration#prependClasspath` is deprecated in favour of `prependAuxClasspath`.
- `PMDConfiguration#setRuleSets` and `getRuleSets` are deprecated. Use instead `setRuleSets`, `addRuleSet`, and `getRuleSetPaths`.
- Several members of `BaseCLITest` have been deprecated with replacements.

- Several members of `PMDCommandLineInterface` have been explicitly deprecated. The whole class however was deprecated long ago already with 6.30.0. It is internal API and should not be used.

- In modelica, the rule classes `AmbiguousResolutionRule` and `ConnectUsingNonConnector` have been deprecated, since they didn’t comply to the usual rule class naming conventions yet. The replacements are in the subpackage `bestpractices`.

##### Experimental APIs

- Together with the new programmatic API the interface `TextFile` has been added as experimental. It intends to replace `DataSource` and `SourceCode` in the long term.

  This interface will change in PMD 7 to support read/write operations and other things. You don’t need to use it in PMD 6, as `FileCollector` decouples you from this. A file collector is available through `PmdAnalysis#files`.

#### 6.43.0

##### Deprecated API

Some API deprecations were performed in core PMD classes, to improve compatibility with PMD 7.

- `Report`: the constructor and other construction methods like addViolation or createReport
- `RuleContext`: all constructors, getters and setters. A new set of stable methods, matching those in PMD 7, was added to replace the `addViolation` overloads of `AbstractRule`. In PMD 7, `RuleContext` will be the API to report violations, and it can already be used as such in PMD 6.
- The field `configuration` is unused and will be removed.

##### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- `RuleSet`: methods that serve to apply rules, including `apply`, `start`, `end`, `removeDysfunctionalRules`
- `AbstractAccumulatingRenderer#renderFileReport` is internal API and should not be overridden in own renderers.

##### Changed API

It is now forbidden to report a violation:

- With a `null` node
- With a `null` message
- With a `null` set of format arguments (prefer a zero-length array)

Note that the message is set from the XML rule declaration, so this is only relevant if you instantiate rules manually.

`RuleContext` now requires setting the current rule before calling `apply`. This is done automatically by `RuleSet#apply` and such. Creating and configuring a `RuleContext` manually is strongly advised against, as the lifecycle of `RuleContext` will change drastically in PMD 7.

#### 6.42.0

No changes.

#### 6.41.0

##### Command Line Interface

The command line options for PMD and CPD now use GNU-syle long options format. E.g. instead of `-rulesets` the preferred usage is now `--rulesets`. Alternatively one can still use the short option `-R`. Some options also have been renamed to a more consistent casing pattern at the same time (`--fail-on-violation` instead of `-failOnViolation`). The old single-dash options are still supported but are deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7. This change makes the command line interface more consistent within PMD and also less surprising compared to other cli tools.

The changes in detail for PMD:

old option | new option
--- | ---
`-rulesets` | `--rulesets` (or `-R`)
`-uri` | `--uri`
`-dir` | `--dir` (or `-d`)
`-filelist` | `--file-list`
`-ignorelist` | `--ignore-list`
`-format` | `--format` (or `-f`)
`-debug` | `--debug`
`-verbose` | `--verbose`
`-help` | `--help`
`-encoding` | `--encoding`
`-threads` | `--threads`
`-benchmark` | `--benchmark`
`-stress` | `--stress`
`-shortnames` | `--short-names`
`-showsuppressed` | `--show-suppressed`
`-suppressmarker` | `--suppress-marker`
`-minimumpriority` | `--minimum-priority`
`-property` | `--property`
`-reportfile` | `--report-file`
`-force-language` | `--force-language`
`-auxclasspath` | `--aux-classpath`
`-failOnViolation` | `--fail-on-violation`
`--failOnViolation` | `--fail-on-violation`
`-norulesetcompatibility` | `--no-ruleset-compatibility`
`-cache` | `--cache`
`-no-cache` | `--no-cache`

The changes in detail for CPD:

old option | new option
--- | ---
`--failOnViolation` | `--fail-on-violation`
`-failOnViolation` | `--fail-on-violation`
`--filelist` | `--file-list`

#### 6.40.0

##### Experimental APIs

- The interface `ASTCommentContainer` has been added to the Apex AST. It provides a way to check whether a node contains at least one comment. Currently this is only implemented for `ASTCatchBlockStatement` and used by the rule `EmptyCatchBlock`. This information is also available via XPath attribute `@ContainsComment`.

#### 6.39.0

No changes.

#### 6.38.0

No changes.

#### 6.37.0

##### PMD CLI

- PMD has a new CLI option `-force-language`. With that a language can be forced to be used for all input files, irrespective of filenames. When using this option, the automatic language selection by extension is disabled and all files are tried to be parsed with the given language. Parsing errors are ignored and unparsable files are skipped.

  This option allows to use the xml language for files, that don’t use xml as extension. See also the examples on PMD CLI reference.

##### Experimental APIs

- The AST types and APIs around Sealed Classes are not experimental anymore:
  - `ASTClassOrInterfaceDeclaration#isSealed`, `ASTClassOrInterfaceDeclaration#isNonSealed`, `ASTClassOrInterfaceDeclaration#getPermittedSubclasses`
  - `ASTPermitsList`

##### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- The inner class `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.TokenEntry.State` is considered to be internal API. It will probably be moved away with PMD 7.

#### 6.36.0

No changes.

#### 6.35.0

##### Deprecated API

- `PMD#doPMD` is deprecated. Use `PMD#runPMD` instead.
- `PMD#run` is deprecated. Use `PMD#runPMD` instead.
- `ThreadSafeReportListener` and the methods to use them in `Report` (`addListener`, `getListeners`, `addListeners`) are deprecated. This functionality will be replaced by another TBD mechanism in PMD 7.

#### 6.34.0

No changes.

#### 6.33.0

No changes.

#### 6.32.0

##### Experimental APIs

- The experimental class `ASTTypeTestPattern` has been renamed to `ASTTypePattern` in order to align the naming to the JLS.
- The experimental class `ASTRecordConstructorDeclaration` has been renamed to `ASTCompactConstructorDeclaration` in order to align the naming to the JLS.
- The AST types and APIs around Pattern Matching and Records are not experimental anymore:
  - `ASTVariableDeclaratorId#isPatternBinding`
  - `ASTPattern`
  - `ASTTypePattern`
  - `ASTRecordDeclaration`
  - `ASTRecordComponentList`
  - `ASTRecordComponent`
  - `ASTRecordBody`
  - `ASTCompactConstructorDeclaration`

##### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- The protected or public member of the Java rule `AvoidUsingHardCodedIPRule` are deprecated and considered to be internal API. They will be removed with PMD 7.

#### 6.31.0

##### Deprecated API

- `AbstractDomXmlRule`
- `AbstractWsdlRule`
- A few methods of `AbstractXmlRule`

##### Experimental APIs

- The method `GenericToken#getKind` has been added as experimental. This unifies the token interface for both JavaCC and Antlr. The already existing method `AntlrToken#getKind` is therefore experimental as well. The returned constant depends on the actual language and might change whenever the grammar of the language is changed.

#### 6.30.0

##### Deprecated API

###### Around RuleSet parsing

- `RuleSetFactory` and `RulesetsFactoryUtils` have been deprecated in favor of `RuleSetLoader`. This is easier to configure, and more maintainable than the multiple overloads of `RulesetsFactoryUtils`.
- Some static creation methods have been added to `RuleSet` for simple cases, eg `forSingleRule`. These replace some counterparts in `RuleSetFactory`
- Since `RuleSets` is also deprecated, many APIs that require a RuleSets instance now are deprecated, and have a counterpart that expects a `List<RuleSet>`.
- `RuleSetReferenceId`, `RuleSetReference`, `RuleSetFactoryCompatibility` are deprecated. They are most likely not relevant outside of the implementation of pmd-core.

###### Around the `PMD` class

Many classes around PMD’s entry point (`PMD`) have been deprecated as internal, including:

- The contents of the packages `net.sourceforge.pmd.cli`, `net.sourceforge.pmd.processor`
- `SourceCodeProcessor`
- The constructors of `PMD` (the class will be made a utility class)

###### Miscellaneous

- `ASTPackageDeclaration#getPackageNameImage`, `ASTTypeParameter#getParameterName` and the corresponding XPath attributes. In both cases they’re replaced with a new method `getName`, the attribute is `@Name`.
- `ASTClassOrInterfaceBody#isAnonymousInnerClass`, and `ASTClassOrInterfaceBody#isEnumChild`, refs #905

##### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ecmascript.Ecmascript3Handler`
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ecmascript.Ecmascript3Parser`
- `EcmascriptParser#parserOptions`
- `EcmascriptParser#getSuppressMap`
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.ParametricRuleViolation`
- `ParserOptions#suppressMarker`
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.modelica.rule.ModelicaRuleViolationFactory`

#### 6.29.0

No changes.

#### 6.28.0

##### Deprecated API

###### For removal

- `net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleViolationComparator`. Use `RuleViolation#DEFAULT_COMPARATOR` instead.
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.AbstractTokenizer`. Use `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.AnyTokenizer` instead.
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.FortranTokenizer`. Was replaced by an `AnyTokenizer`. Use `FortranLanguage#getTokenizer` anyway.
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.PerlTokenizer`. Was replaced by an `AnyTokenizer`. Use `PerlLanguage#getTokenizer` anyway.
- `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.RubyTokenizer`. Was replaced by an `AnyTokenizer`. Use `RubyLanguage#getTokenizer` anyway.
- `RuleReference#getOverriddenLanguage` and `RuleReference#setLanguage`
- Antlr4 generated lexers:
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.cs.antlr4.CSharpLexer` will be moved to package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.cs.ast` with PMD 7.
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.dart.antlr4.Dart2Lexer` will be renamed to `DartLexer` and moved to package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.dart.ast` with PMD 7. All other classes in the old package will be removed.
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.go.antlr4.GolangLexer` will be moved to package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.go.ast` with PMD 7. All other classes in the old package will be removed.
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.kotlin.antlr4.Kotlin` will be renamed to `KotlinLexer` and moved to package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.kotlin.ast` with PMD 7.
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.lua.antlr4.LuaLexer` will be moved to package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.lua.ast` with PMD 7. All other classes in the old package will be removed.

#### 6.27.0

- XML rule definition in rulesets: In PMD 7, the `language` attribute will be required on all `rule` elements that declare a new rule. Some base rule classes set the language implicitly in their constructor, and so this is not required in all cases for the rule to work. But this behavior will be discontinued in PMD 7, so missing `language` attributes are now reported as a forward compatibility warning.

##### Deprecated API

###### For removal

- `Rule#getParserOptions`
- `Parser#getParserOptions`
- `AbstractParser`
- `RuleContext#removeAttribute`
- `RuleContext#getAttribute`
- `RuleContext#setAttribute`
- `ApexParserOptions`
- `ASTThrowStatement#getFirstClassOrInterfaceTypeImage`
- `EcmascriptParserOptions`
- `EcmascriptXPathRule`
- `XmlParserOptions`
- `XmlXPathRule`

- Properties of `AbstractXmlRule`

- `net.sourceforge.pmd.Report.ReadableDuration`

- Many methods of `net.sourceforge.pmd.Report`. They are replaced by accessors that produce a List. For example, `iterator()` (and implementing Iterable) and `isEmpty()` are both replaced by `getViolations()`.

- The dataflow codebase is deprecated for removal in PMD 7. This includes all code in the following packages, and their subpackages:
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.plsql.dfa`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.dfa`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.dfa`
  - and the class `PLSQLDataFlowHandler`

- `VfSimpleCharStream`

- `ASTJspDeclarations`
- `ASTJspDocument`
- `ScalaParserVisitorAdapter#zero`
- `ScalaParserVisitorAdapter#combine`
- `ApexParserVisitorReducedAdapter`

- `JavaParserVisitorReducedAdapter`

- `TypeHelper` is deprecated in favor of `TypeTestUtil`, which has the same functionality, but a slightly changed API.
- Many of the classes in `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.symboltable` are deprecated as internal API.

#### 6.26.0

##### Deprecated API

###### For removal

- `RuleChainVisitor` and all implementations in language modules
- `AbstractRuleChainVisitor`
- `Language#getRuleChainVisitorClass`
- `BaseLanguageModule#<init>`
- `ImportWrapper`

#### 6.25.0

- The maven module `net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-scala` is deprecated. Use `net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-scala_2.13` or `net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-scala_2.12` instead.

- Rule implementation classes are internal API and should not be used by clients directly. The rules should only be referenced via their entry in the corresponding category ruleset (e.g. `<rule ref="category/java/bestpractices.xml/AbstractClassWithoutAbstractMethod" />`).

  While we definitely won’t move or rename the rule classes in PMD 6.x, we might consider changes in PMD 7.0.0 and onwards.

##### Deprecated APIs

###### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- `AbstractIgnoredAnnotationRule` (Java)
- `AbstractInefficientZeroCheck` (Java)
- `AbstractJUnitRule` (Java)
- `AbstractJavaMetricsRule` (Java)
- `AbstractLombokAwareRule` (Java)
- `AbstractPoorMethodCall` (Java)
- `AbstractSunSecureRule` (Java)
- `AbstractNcssCountRule` (Java)
- `AbstractCommentRule` (Java)
- `AbstractOptimizationRule` (Java)
- `RegexHelper` (Java)
- `AbstractApexUnitTestRule` (Apex)
- `AbstractNcssCountRule` (Apex)
- `AbstractNcssCountRule` (PLSQL)
- `ApexParser`
- `ApexHandler`
- `RuleChain`
- `RuleSets`
- `RulesetsFactoryUtils#getRuleSets`

###### For removal

- `TokenEntry#TokenEntry`
- `AbstractTokenizerTest`. Use CpdTextComparisonTest in module pmd-lang-test instead. For details see Testing your implementation in the developer documentation.
- `ASTAnnotation#suppresses` (Apex)
- `ApexXPathRule` (Apex)
- `SymbolTableTestRule` (Java)
- `InefficientStringBufferingRule#isInStringBufferOperation`

#### 6.24.0

##### Deprecated APIs

- `BaseLanguageModule#addVersion(String, LanguageVersionHandler, boolean)`
- Some members of `TokenMgrError`, in particular, a new constructor is available that should be preferred to the old ones
- `AntlrTokenManager.ANTLRSyntaxError`

##### Experimental APIs

Note: Experimental APIs are identified with the annotation `Experimental`, see its javadoc for details

- The experimental methods in `BaseLanguageModule` have been replaced by a definitive API.

#### 6.23.0

##### Deprecated APIs

###### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- `AbstractXPathRuleQuery`
- `JaxenXPathRuleQuery`
- `SaxonXPathRuleQuery`
- `XPathRuleQuery`

###### In ASTs

As part of the changes we’d like to do to AST classes for 7.0.0, we would like to hide some methods and constructors that rule writers should not have access to. The following usages are now deprecated in the Apex, Javascript, PL/SQL, Scala and Visualforce ASTs:

- Manual instantiation of nodes. Constructors of node classes are deprecated and marked `InternalApi`. Nodes should only be obtained from the parser, which for rules, means that they never need to instantiate node themselves. Those constructors will be made package private with 7.0.0.
- Subclassing of abstract node classes, or usage of their type. The base classes are internal API and will be hidden in version 7.0.0. You should not couple your code to them.
  - In the meantime you should use interfaces like `VfNode` or `Node`, or the other published interfaces in this package, to refer to nodes generically.
  - Concrete node classes will be made final with 7.0.0.
- Setters found in any node class or interface. Rules should consider the AST immutable. We will make those setters package private with 7.0.0.
- The implementation classes of `Parser` (eg `VfParser`) are deprecated and should not be used directly. Use `LanguageVersionHandler#getParser` instead.
- The implementation classes of `TokenManager` (eg `VfTokenManager`) are deprecated and should not be used outside of our implementation. This also affects CPD-only modules.

These deprecations are added to the following language modules in this release. Please look at the package documentation to find out the full list of deprecations.

- Apex: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.apex.ast`
- Javascript: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ecmascript.ast`
- PL/SQL: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.plsql.ast`
- Scala: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.scala.ast`
- Visualforce: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vf.ast`

These deprecations have already been rolled out in a previous version for the following languages:

- Java: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast`
- Java Server Pages: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.jsp.ast`
- Velocity Template Language: `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm.ast`

Outside of these packages, these changes also concern the following TokenManager implementations, and their corresponding Parser if it exists (in the same package):

- `CppTokenManager`
- `JavaTokenManager`
- `Ecmascript5TokenManager`
- `JspTokenManager`
- `MatlabTokenManager`
- `ModelicaTokenManager`
- `ObjectiveCTokenManager`
- `PLSQLTokenManager`
- `PythonTokenManager`
- `VfTokenManager`
- `VmTokenManager`

In the Java AST the following attributes are deprecated and will issue a warning when used in XPath rules:

- `ASTAdditiveExpression#getImage` - use `getOperator()` instead
- `ASTVariableDeclaratorId#getImage` - use `getName()` instead
- `ASTVariableDeclaratorId#getVariableName` - use `getName()` instead

###### For removal

- `Parser#getTokenManager`
- `TokenManager#setFileName`
- `AbstractTokenManager#setFileName`
- `AbstractTokenManager#getFileName`
- `AntlrToken#getType` - use `getKind()` instead.
- `ImmutableLanguage`
- `MockRule`
- `Node#getFirstParentOfAnyType`
- `Node#getAsDocument`
- `AbstractNode#hasDescendantOfAnyType`
- `ASTRecordDeclaration#getComponentList`
- Multiple fields, constructors and methods in `XPathRule`. See javadoc for details.

#### 6.22.0

##### Deprecated APIs

###### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- `JavaLanguageHandler`
- `JavaLanguageParser`
- `JavaDataFlowHandler`
- Implementations of `RuleViolationFactory` in each language module, eg `JavaRuleViolationFactory`. See javadoc of `RuleViolationFactory`.

- Implementations of `RuleViolation` in each language module, eg `JavaRuleViolation`. See javadoc of `RuleViolation`.

- `RuleFactory`
- `RuleBuilder`
- Constructors of `RuleSetFactory`, use factory methods from `RulesetsFactoryUtils` instead

- `getRulesetFactory`

- `AbstractApexNode`
- `AbstractApexNodeBase`, and the related `visit` methods on `ApexParserVisitor` and its implementations. Use `ApexNode` instead, now considers comments too.

###### For removal

- pmd-core
  - `DFAGraphRule` and its implementations
  - `DFAGraphMethod`
  - Many methods on the `Node` interface and `AbstractNode` base class. See their javadoc for details.
  - `Node#isFindBoundary` is deprecated for XPath queries.
  - Many APIs of `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.metrics`, though most of them were internal and probably not used directly outside of PMD. Use `MetricsUtil` as a replacement for the language-specific façades too.
  - `QualifiableNode`, `QualifiedName`
- pmd-java
  - `AbstractJavaParser`
  - `AbstractJavaHandler`
  - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration.TypeKind`
  - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration#getKind`
  - `JavaQualifiedName`
  - `ASTCatchStatement#getBlock`
  - `ASTCompilationUnit#declarationsAreInDefaultPackage`
  - `JavaQualifiableNode`
    - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration#getQualifiedName`
    - `ASTMethodOrConstructorDeclaration#getQualifiedName`
    - `ASTLambdaExpression#getQualifiedName`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.qname` and its contents
  - `MethodLikeNode`
    - Its methods will also be removed from its implementations, `ASTMethodOrConstructorDeclaration`, `ASTLambdaExpression`.
  - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration#getImage` will be removed. Please use `getSimpleName()` instead. This affects `ASTAnnotationTypeDeclaration#getImage`, `ASTClassOrInterfaceDeclaration#getImage`, and `ASTEnumDeclaration#getImage`.
  - Several methods of `ASTTryStatement`, replacements with other names have been added. This includes the XPath attribute `@Finally`, replace it with a test for `child::FinallyStatement`.
  - Several methods named `getGuardExpressionNode` are replaced with `getCondition`. This affects the following nodes: WhileStatement, DoStatement, ForStatement, IfStatement, AssertStatement, ConditionalExpression.
  - `ASTYieldStatement` will not implement `TypeNode` anymore come 7.0.0. Test the type of the expression nested within it.
  - `JavaMetrics`, `JavaMetricsComputer`
  - `ASTArguments#getArgumentCount`. Use `size` instead.
  - `ASTFormalParameters#getParameterCount`. Use `size` instead.
- pmd-apex
  - `ApexMetrics`, `ApexMetricsComputer`

###### In ASTs (JSP)

As part of the changes we’d like to do to AST classes for 7.0.0, we would like to hide some methods and constructors that rule writers should not have access to. The following usages are now deprecated in the JSP AST (with other languages to come):

- Manual instantiation of nodes. Constructors of node classes are deprecated and marked `InternalApi`. Nodes should only be obtained from the parser, which for rules, means that they never need to instantiate node themselves. Those constructors will be made package private with 7.0.0.
- Subclassing of abstract node classes, or usage of their type. The base classes are internal API and will be hidden in version 7.0.0. You should not couple your code to them.
  - In the meantime you should use interfaces like `JspNode` or `Node`, or the other published interfaces in this package, to refer to nodes generically.
  - Concrete node classes will be made final with 7.0.0.
- Setters found in any node class or interface. Rules should consider the AST immutable. We will make those setters package private with 7.0.0.
- The class `JspParser` is deprecated and should not be used directly. Use `LanguageVersionHandler#getParser` instead.

Please look at `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.jsp.ast` to find out the full list of deprecations.

###### In ASTs (Velocity)

As part of the changes we’d like to do to AST classes for 7.0.0, we would like to hide some methods and constructors that rule writers should not have access to. The following usages are now deprecated in the VM AST (with other languages to come):

- Manual instantiation of nodes. Constructors of node classes are deprecated and marked `InternalApi`. Nodes should only be obtained from the parser, which for rules, means that they never need to instantiate node themselves. Those constructors will be made package private with 7.0.0.
- Subclassing of abstract node classes, or usage of their type. The base classes are internal API and will be hidden in version 7.0.0. You should not couple your code to them.
  - In the meantime you should use interfaces like `VmNode` or `Node`, or the other published interfaces in this package, to refer to nodes generically.
  - Concrete node classes will be made final with 7.0.0.
- Setters found in any node class or interface. Rules should consider the AST immutable. We will make those setters package private with 7.0.0.
- The package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm.directive` as well as the classes `DirectiveMapper` and `LogUtil` are deprecated for removal. They were only used internally during parsing.
- The class `VmParser` is deprecated and should not be used directly. Use `LanguageVersionHandler#getParser` instead.

Please look at `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm.ast` to find out the full list of deprecations.

##### PLSQL AST

The production and node `ASTCursorBody` was unnecessary, not used and has been removed. Cursors have been already parsed as `ASTCursorSpecification`.

#### 6.21.0

##### Deprecated APIs

###### Internal API

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- `JavaLanguageHandler`
- `JavaLanguageParser`
- `JavaDataFlowHandler`
- Implementations of `RuleViolationFactory` in each language module, eg `JavaRuleViolationFactory`. See javadoc of `RuleViolationFactory`.

- Implementations of `RuleViolation` in each language module, eg `JavaRuleViolation`. See javadoc of `RuleViolation`.

- `RuleFactory`
- `RuleBuilder`
- Constructors of `RuleSetFactory`, use factory methods from `RulesetsFactoryUtils` instead

- `getRulesetFactory`

- `AbstractApexNode`

- `AbstractApexNodeBase`, and the related `visit` methods on `ApexParserVisitor` and its implementations. Use `ApexNode` instead, now considers comments too.

- `CharStream`, `JavaCharStream`, `SimpleCharStream`: these are APIs used by our JavaCC implementations and that will be moved/refactored for PMD 7.0.0. They should not be used, extended or implemented directly.
- All classes generated by JavaCC, eg `JJTJavaParserState`. This includes token classes, which will be replaced with a single implementation, and subclasses of `ParseException`, whose usages will be replaced by just that superclass.

###### For removal

- pmd-core
  - Many methods on the `Node` interface and `AbstractNode` base class. See their javadoc for details.
  - `Node#isFindBoundary` is deprecated for XPath queries.
- pmd-java
  - `AbstractJavaParser`
  - `AbstractJavaHandler`
  - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration.TypeKind`
  - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration#getKind`
  - `JavaQualifiedName`
  - `ASTCatchStatement#getBlock`
  - `ASTCompilationUnit#declarationsAreInDefaultPackage`
  - `JavaQualifiableNode`
    - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration#getQualifiedName`
    - `ASTMethodOrConstructorDeclaration#getQualifiedName`
    - `ASTLambdaExpression#getQualifiedName`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.qname` and its contents
  - `MethodLikeNode`
    - Its methods will also be removed from its implementations, `ASTMethodOrConstructorDeclaration`, `ASTLambdaExpression`.
  - `ASTAnyTypeDeclaration#getImage` will be removed. Please use `getSimpleName()` instead. This affects `ASTAnnotationTypeDeclaration#getImage`, `ASTClassOrInterfaceDeclaration#getImage`, and `ASTEnumDeclaration#getImage`.
  - Several methods of `ASTTryStatement`, replacements with other names have been added. This includes the XPath attribute `@Finally`, replace it with a test for `child::FinallyStatement`.
  - Several methods named `getGuardExpressionNode` are replaced with `getCondition`. This affects the following nodes: WhileStatement, DoStatement, ForStatement, IfStatement, AssertStatement, ConditionalExpression.
  - `ASTYieldStatement` will not implement `TypeNode` anymore come 7.0.0. Test the type of the expression nested within it.

#### 6.20.0

No changes.

#### 6.19.0

##### Deprecated APIs

###### For removal

- pmd-core
  - All the package `net.sourceforge.pmd.dcd` and its subpackages. See `DCD`.
  - In `LanguageRegistry`:
    - `commaSeparatedTerseNamesForLanguageVersion`
    - `commaSeparatedTerseNamesForLanguage`
    - `findAllVersions`
    - `findLanguageVersionByTerseName`
    - `getInstance`
  - `RuleSet#getExcludePatterns`. Use the new method `getFileExclusions` instead.
  - `RuleSet#getIncludePatterns`. Use the new method `getFileInclusions` instead.
  - `Parser#canParse`
  - `Parser#getSuppressMap`
  - `RuleBuilder#RuleBuilder`. Use the new constructor with the correct ResourceLoader instead.
  - `RuleFactory#RuleFactory`. Use the new constructor with the correct ResourceLoader instead.
- pmd-java
  - `CanSuppressWarnings` and its implementations
  - `isSuppressed`
  - `getDeclaringType`.
  - `isSupressed`
  - `ASTMethodDeclarator`
  - `getMethodName`
  - `getBlock`
  - `getParameterCount`
- pmd-apex
  - `CanSuppressWarnings` and its implementations
  - `isSupressed`

###### Internal APIs

- pmd-core
  - All the package `net.sourceforge.pmd.util` and its subpackages, except `net.sourceforge.pmd.util.datasource` and `net.sourceforge.pmd.util.database`.
  - `GridBagHelper`
  - `ColumnDescriptor`

#### 6.18.0

##### Changes to Renderer

- Each renderer has now a new method `Renderer#setUseShortNames` which is used for implementing the “shortnames” CLI option. The method is automatically called by PMD, if this CLI option is in use. When rendering filenames to the report, the new helper method `AbstractRenderer#determineFileName` should be used. This will change the filename to a short name, if the CLI option “shortnames” is used.

  Not adjusting custom renderers will make them render always the full file names and not honoring the CLI option “shortnames”.

##### Deprecated APIs

###### For removal

- The methods `getImportedNameNode` and `getPackage` have been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0.
- The method `RuleContext#setSourceCodeFilename` has been deprecated and will be removed. The already existing method `RuleContext#setSourceCodeFile` should be used instead. The method `RuleContext#getSourceCodeFilename` still exists and returns just the filename without the full path.
- The method `AbstractPMDProcessor#filenameFrom` has been deprecated. It was used to determine a “short name” of the file being analyzed, so that the report can use short names. However, this logic has been moved to the renderers.
- The method `Report#metrics` and `Report` have been deprecated. They were leftovers from a previous deprecation round targeting `StatisticalRule`.

###### Internal APIs

Those APIs are not intended to be used by clients, and will be hidden or removed with PMD 7.0.0. You can identify them with the `@InternalApi` annotation. You’ll also get a deprecation warning.

- pmd-core
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.cache`
- pmd-java
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.typeresolution`: Everything, including subpackages, except `TypeHelper` and `JavaTypeDefinition`.
  - `ASTCompilationUnit#getClassTypeResolver`

#### 6.17.0

No changes.

#### 6.16.0

##### Deprecated APIs

> Reminder: Please don’t use members marked with the annotation `InternalApi`, as they will likely be removed, hidden, or otherwise intentionally broken with 7.0.0.

###### In ASTs

As part of the changes we’d like to do to AST classes for 7.0.0, we would like to hide some methods and constructors that rule writers should not have access to. The following usages are now deprecated in the Java AST (with other languages to come):

- Manual instantiation of nodes. Constructors of node classes are deprecated and marked `InternalApi`. Nodes should only be obtained from the parser, which for rules, means that never need to instantiate node themselves. Those constructors will be made package private with 7.0.0.
- Subclassing of abstract node classes, or usage of their type. Version 7.0.0 will bring a new set of abstractions that will be public API, but the base classes are and will stay internal. You should not couple your code to them.
  - In the meantime you should use interfaces like `JavaNode` or `Node`, or the other published interfaces in this package, to refer to nodes generically.
  - Concrete node classes will be made final with 7.0.0.
- Setters found in any node class or interface. Rules should consider the AST immutable. We will make those setters package private with 7.0.0.

Please look at `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast` to find out the full list of deprecations.

#### 6.15.0

##### Deprecated APIs

###### For removal

- The `DumpFacades` in all languages, that could be used to transform a AST into a textual representation, will be removed with PMD 7. The rule designer is a better way to inspect nodes.
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.apex.ast.DumpFacade`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.DumpFacade`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ecmascript.ast.DumpFacade`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.jsp.ast.DumpFacade`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.plsql.ast.DumpFacade`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vf.ast.DumpFacade`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm.ast.AbstractVmNode#dump`
  - `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.ast.DumpFacade`
- The method `LanguageVersionHandler#getDumpFacade` will be removed as well. It is deprecated, along with all its implementations in the subclasses of `LanguageVersionHandler`.

#### 6.14.0

No changes.

#### 6.13.0

##### Command Line Interface

The start scripts `run.sh`, `pmd.bat` and `cpd.bat` support the new environment variable `PMD_JAVA_OPTS`. This can be used to set arbitrary JVM options for running PMD, such as memory settings (e.g. `PMD_JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx512m`) or enable preview language features (e.g. `PMD_JAVA_OPTS=--enable-preview`).

The previously available variables such as `OPTS` or `HEAPSIZE` are deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0.

##### Deprecated API

- `CodeClimateRule` is deprecated in 7.0.0 because it was unused for 2 years and created an unwanted dependency. Properties “cc_categories”, “cc_remediation_points_multiplier”, “cc_block_highlighting” will also be removed. See #1702 for more.

- The Apex ruleset `rulesets/apex/ruleset.xml` has been deprecated and will be removed in 7.0.0. Please use the new quickstart ruleset `rulesets/apex/quickstart.xml` instead.

#### 6.12.0

No changes.

#### 6.11.0

- `StatisticalRule` and the related helper classes and base rule classes are deprecated for removal in 7.0.0. This includes all of `net.sourceforge.pmd.stat` and `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.stat`, and also `AbstractStatisticalJavaRule`, `AbstractStatisticalApexRule` and the like. The methods `Report#addMetric` and `metricAdded` will also be removed.
- `setProperty` is deprecated, because `MultiValuePropertyDescriptor` is deprecated as well

#### 6.10.0

##### Properties framework

The properties framework is about to get a lifting, and for that reason, we need to deprecate a lot of APIs to remove them in 7.0.0. The proposed changes to the API are described on the wiki

###### Changes to how you define properties

- Construction of property descriptors has been possible through builders since 6.0.0. The 7.0.0 API will only allow construction through builders. The builder hierarchy, currently found in the package `net.sourceforge.pmd.properties.builders`, is being replaced by the simpler `PropertyBuilder`. Their APIs enjoy a high degree of source compatibility.

- Concrete property classes like `IntegerProperty` and `StringMultiProperty` will gradually all be deprecated until 7.0.0. Their usages should be replaced by direct usage of the `PropertyDescriptor` interface, e.g. `PropertyDescriptor<Integer>` or `PropertyDescriptor<List<String>>`.

- Instead of spreading properties across countless classes, the utility class `PropertyFactory` will become from 7.0.0 on the only provider for property descriptor builders. Each current property type will be replaced by a corresponding method on `PropertyFactory`:

  - `IntegerProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#intProperty`
    - `IntegerMultiProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#intListProperty`
  - `FloatProperty` and `DoubleProperty` are both replaced by `PropertyFactory#doubleProperty`. Having a separate property for floats wasn’t that useful.
    - Similarly, `FloatMultiProperty` and `DoubleMultiProperty` are replaced by `PropertyFactory#doubleListProperty`.
  - `StringProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#stringProperty`
    - `StringMultiProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#stringListProperty`

  - `RegexProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#regexProperty`

  - `EnumeratedProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#enumProperty`
    - `EnumeratedProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#enumListProperty`
  - `BooleanProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#booleanProperty`
    - Its multi-valued counterpart, `BooleanMultiProperty`, is not replaced, because it doesn’t have a use case.
  - `CharacterProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#charProperty`
    - `CharacterMultiProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#charListProperty`
  - `LongProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#longIntProperty`
    - `LongMultiProperty` is replaced by `PropertyFactory#longIntListProperty`
  - `MethodProperty`, `FileProperty`, `TypeProperty` and their multi-valued counterparts are discontinued for lack of a use-case, and have no planned replacement in 7.0.0 for now.

Here’s an example:

    // Before 7.0.0, these are equivalent:
    IntegerProperty myProperty = new IntegerProperty("score", "Top score value", 1, 100, 40, 3.0f);
    IntegerProperty myProperty = IntegerProperty.named("score").desc("Top score value").range(1, 100).defaultValue(40).uiOrder(3.0f);

    // They both map to the following in 7.0.0
    PropertyDescriptor<Integer> myProperty = PropertyFactory.intProperty("score").desc("Top score value").require(inRange(1, 100)).defaultValue(40);

You’re highly encouraged to migrate to using this new API as soon as possible, to ease your migration to 7.0.0.

###### Architectural simplifications

- `EnumeratedPropertyDescriptor`, `NumericPropertyDescriptor`, `PackagedPropertyDescriptor`, and the related builders (in `net.sourceforge.pmd.properties.builders`) will be removed. These specialized interfaces allowed additional constraints to be enforced on the value of a property, but made the property class hierarchy very large and impractical to maintain. Their functionality will be mapped uniformly to `PropertyConstraint`s, which will allow virtually any constraint to be defined, and improve documentation and error reporting. The related methods `PropertyTypeId#isPropertyNumeric` and `PropertyTypeId#isPropertyPackaged` are also deprecated.

- `MultiValuePropertyDescriptor` and `SingleValuePropertyDescriptor` are deprecated. 7.0.0 will introduce a new XML syntax which will remove the need for such a divide between single- and multi-valued properties. The method `PropertyDescriptor#isMultiValue` will be removed accordingly.

###### Changes to the PropertyDescriptor interface

- `preferredRowCount` is deprecated with no intended replacement. It was never implemented, and does not belong in this interface. The methods `uiOrder` and `compareTo(PropertyDescriptor)` are deprecated for the same reason. These methods mix presentation logic with business logic and are not necessary for PropertyDescriptors to work. `PropertyDescriptor` will not extend `Comparable<PropertyDescriptor>` anymore come 7.0.0.
- The method `propertyErrorFor` is deprecated and will be removed with no intended replacement. It’s really just a shortcut for `prop.errorFor(rule.getProperty(prop))`.
- `T` `valueFrom(String)` and `String` `asDelimitedString``(T)` are deprecated and will be removed. These were used to serialize and deserialize properties to/from a string, but 7.0.0 will introduce a more flexible XML syntax which will make them obsolete.
- `isMultiValue` and `type` are deprecated and won’t be replaced. The new XML syntax will remove the need for a divide between multi- and single-value properties, and will allow arbitrary types to be represented. Since arbitrary types may be represented, `type` will become obsolete as it can’t represent generic types, which will nevertheless be representable with the XML syntax. It was only used for documentation, but a new way to document these properties exhaustively will be added with 7.0.0.
- `errorFor` is deprecated as its return type will be changed to `Optional<String>` with the shift to Java 8.

##### Deprecated APIs

###### For internalization

- The implementation of the adapters for the XPath engines Saxon and Jaxen (package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.xpath`) are now deprecated. They’ll be moved to an internal package come 7.0.0. Only `Attribute` remains public API.

- The classes `PropertyDescriptorField`, `PropertyDescriptorBuilderConversionWrapper`, and the methods `PropertyDescriptor#attributeValuesById`, `PropertyDescriptor#isDefinedExternally` and `PropertyTypeId#getFactory`. These were used to read and write properties to and from XML, but were not intended as public API.

- The class `ValueParserConstants` and the interface `ValueParser`.

- All classes from `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.metrics.impl.visitors` are now considered internal API. They’re deprecated and will be moved into an internal package with 7.0.0. To implement your own metrics visitors, `JavaParserVisitorAdapter` should be directly subclassed.

- `LanguageVersionHandler#getDataFlowHandler()`, `LanguageVersionHandler#getDFAGraphRule()`

- `VisitorStarter`

###### For removal

- All classes from `net.sourceforge.pmd.properties.modules` will be removed.

- The interface `Dimensionable` has been deprecated. It gets in the way of a grammar change for 7.0.0 and won’t be needed anymore (see #997).

- Several methods from `ASTLocalVariableDeclaration` and `ASTFieldDeclaration` have also been deprecated:

  - `ASTFieldDeclaration` won’t be a `TypeNode` come 7.0.0, so `getType` and `getTypeDefinition` are deprecated.

  - The method `getVariableName` on those two nodes will be removed, too.

  All these are deprecated because those nodes may declare several variables at once, possibly with different types (and obviously with different names). They both implement `Iterator<``ASTVariableDeclaratorId``>` though, so you should iterate on each declared variable. See #910.

- Visitor decorators are now deprecated and will be removed in PMD 7.0.0. They were originally a way to write composable visitors, used in the metrics framework, but they didn’t prove cost-effective.

  - In `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast`: `JavaParserDecoratedVisitor`, `JavaParserControllessVisitor`, `JavaParserControllessVisitorAdapter`, and `JavaParserVisitorDecorator` are deprecated with no intended replacement.

- The LanguageModules of several languages, that only support CPD execution, have been deprecated. These languages are not fully supported by PMD, so having a language module does not make sense. The functionality of CPD is not affected by this change. The following classes have been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0:

  - `CppHandler`
  - `CppLanguageModule`
  - `CppParser`
  - `CsLanguageModule`
  - `FortranLanguageModule`
  - `GroovyLanguageModule`
  - `MatlabHandler`
  - `MatlabLanguageModule`
  - `MatlabParser`
  - `ObjectiveCHandler`
  - `ObjectiveCLanguageModule`
  - `ObjectiveCParser`
  - `PhpLanguageModule`
  - `PythonHandler`
  - `PythonLanguageModule`
  - `PythonParser`
  - `RubyLanguageModule`
  - `ScalaLanguageModule`
  - `SwiftLanguageModule`

- Optional AST processing stages like symbol table, type resolution or data-flow analysis will be reified in 7.0.0 to factorise common logic and make them extensible. Further explanations about this change can be found on #1426. Consequently, the following APIs are deprecated for removal:

  - In `Rule`: `isDfa()`, `isTypeResolution()`, `isMultifile()` and their respective setters.
  - In `RuleSet`: `usesDFA(Language)`, `usesTypeResolution(Language)`, `usesMultifile(Language)`
  - In `RuleSets`: `usesDFA(Language)`, `usesTypeResolution(Language)`, `usesMultifile(Language)`
  - In `LanguageVersionHandler`: `getDataFlowFacade()`, `getSymbolFacade()`, `getSymbolFacade(ClassLoader)`, `getTypeResolutionFacade(ClassLoader)`, `getQualifiedNameResolutionFacade(ClassLoader)`

#### 6.9.0

No changes.

#### 6.8.0

- A couple of methods and fields in `net.sourceforge.pmd.properties.AbstractPropertySource` have been deprecated, as they are replaced by already existing functionality or expose internal implementation details: `propertyDescriptors`, `propertyValuesByDescriptor`, `copyPropertyDescriptors()`, `copyPropertyValues()`, `ignoredProperties()`, `usesDefaultValues()`, `useDefaultValueFor()`.

- Some methods in `net.sourceforge.pmd.properties.PropertySource` have been deprecated as well: `usesDefaultValues()`, `useDefaultValueFor()`, `ignoredProperties()`.

- The class `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.AbstractDelegateRule` has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. It is internally only in use by RuleReference.

- The default constructor of `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.RuleReference` has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. RuleReferences should only be created by providing a Rule and a RuleSetReference. Furthermore the following methods are deprecated: `setRuleReference()`, `hasOverriddenProperty()`, `usesDefaultValues()`, `useDefaultValueFor()`.

#### 6.7.0

- All classes in the package `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.dfa.report` have been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. This includes the class `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.dfa.report.ReportTree`. The reason is, that this class is very specific to Java and not suitable for other languages. It has only been used for `YAHTMLRenderer`, which has been rewritten to work without these classes.

- The nodes RUNSIGNEDSHIFT and RSIGNEDSHIFT are deprecated and will be removed from the AST with PMD 7.0.0. These represented the operator of ShiftExpression in two cases out of three, but they’re not needed and make ShiftExpression inconsistent. The operator of a ShiftExpression is now accessible through ShiftExpression#getOperator.

#### 6.5.0

- The utility class `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.CommentUtil` has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. Its methods have been intended to parse javadoc tags. A more useful solution will be added around the AST node `FormalComment`, which contains as children `JavadocElement` nodes, which in turn provide access to the `JavadocTag`.

  All comment AST nodes (`FormalComment`, `MultiLineComment`, `SingleLineComment`) have a new method `getFilteredComment()` which provide access to the comment text without the leading `/*` markers.

- The method `AbstractCommentRule.tagsIndicesIn()` has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. It is not very useful, since it doesn’t extract the information in a useful way. You would still need check, which tags have been found, and with which data they might be accompanied.

#### 6.4.0

- The following classes in package `net.sourceforge.pmd.benchmark` have been deprecated: `Benchmark`, `Benchmarker`, `BenchmarkReport`, `BenchmarkResult`, `RuleDuration`, `StringBuilderCR` and `TextReport`. Their API is not supported anymore and is disconnected from the internals of PMD. Use the newer API based around `TimeTracker` instead, which can be found in the same package.
- The class `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.xpath.TypeOfFunction` has been deprecated. Use the newer `TypeIsFunction` in the same package.
- The `typeof` methods in `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.xpath.JavaFunctions` have been deprecated. Use the newer `typeIs` method in the same class instead..
- The methods `isA`, `isEither` and `isNeither` of `net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.typeresolution.TypeHelper`. Use the new `isExactlyAny` and `isExactlyNone` methods in the same class instead.

#### 6.2.0

- The static method `PMDParameters.transformParametersIntoConfiguration(PMDParameters)` is now deprecated, for removal in 7.0.0. The new instance method `PMDParameters.toConfiguration()` replaces it.

- The method `ASTConstructorDeclaration.getParameters()` has been deprecated in favor of the new method `getFormalParameters()`. This method is available for both `ASTConstructorDeclaration` and `ASTMethodDeclaration`.

#### 6.1.0

- The method `getXPathNodeName` is added to the `Node` interface, which removes the use of the `toString` of a node to get its XPath element name (see #569).
  - The default implementation provided in `AbstractNode`, will be removed with 7.0.0
  - With 7.0.0, the `Node.toString` method will not necessarily provide its XPath node name anymore.

- The interface `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.Renderer` has been deprecated. A new interface `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.renderer.CPDRenderer` has been introduced to replace it. The main difference is that the new interface is meant to render directly to a `java.io.Writer` rather than to a String. This allows to greatly reduce the memory footprint of CPD, as on large projects, with many duplications, it was causing `OutOfMemoryError`s (see #795).

  `net.sourceforge.pmd.cpd.FileReporter` has also been deprecated as part of this change, as it’s no longer needed.

#### 6.0.1

- The constant `net.sourceforge.pmd.PMD.VERSION` has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. Please use `net.sourceforge.pmd.PMDVersion.VERSION` instead.

### List of currently deprecated rules

- The Java rules `VariableNamingConventions`, `MIsLeadingVariableName`, `SuspiciousConstantFieldName`, and `AvoidPrefixingMethodParameters` are now deprecated, and will be removed with version 7.0.0. They are replaced by the more general `FieldNamingConventions`, `FormalParameterNamingConventions`, and `LocalVariableNamingConventions`.

- The Java rule `AbstractNaming` is deprecated in favour of `ClassNamingConventions`.

- The Java rules `WhileLoopsMustUseBraces`, `ForLoopsMustUseBraces`, `IfStmtsMustUseBraces`, and `IfElseStmtsMustUseBraces` are deprecated. They will be replaced by the new rule `ControlStatementBraces`.

- The Java rules `NcssConstructorCount`, `NcssMethodCount`, and `NcssTypeCount` have been deprecated. They will be replaced by the new rule `NcssCount` in the category `design`.

- The Java rule `LooseCoupling` in ruleset `java-typeresolution` is deprecated. Use the rule with the same name from category `bestpractices` instead.

- The Java rule `CloneMethodMustImplementCloneable` in ruleset `java-typeresolution` is deprecated. Use the rule with the same name from category `errorprone` instead.

- The Java rule `UnusedImports` in ruleset `java-typeresolution` is deprecated. Use the rule with the same name from category `bestpractices` instead.

- The Java rule `SignatureDeclareThrowsException` in ruleset `java-typeresolution` is deprecated. Use the rule with the same name from category `design` instead.

- The Java rule `EmptyStaticInitializer` in ruleset `java-empty` is deprecated. Use the rule `EmptyInitializer`, which covers both static and non-static empty initializers.`

- The Java rules `GuardDebugLogging` (ruleset `java-logging-jakarta-commons`) and `GuardLogStatementJavaUtil` (ruleset `java-logging-java`) have been deprecated. Use the rule `GuardLogStatement`, which covers all cases regardless of the logging framework.

- The Java rule `UnsynchronizedStaticDateFormatter` has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. The rule is replaced by the more general `UnsynchronizedStaticFormatter`.

- The two Java rules `PositionLiteralsFirstInComparisons` and `PositionLiteralsFirstInCaseInsensitiveComparisons` (ruleset `java-bestpractices`) have been deprecated in favor of the new rule `LiteralsFirstInComparisons`.

- The Java rule `AvoidFinalLocalVariable` (`java-codestyle`) has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. The rule is controversial and also contradicts other existing rules such as `LocalVariableCouldBeFinal`. If the goal is to avoid defining constants in a scope smaller than the class, then the rule `AvoidDuplicateLiterals` should be used instead.

- The Apex rule `VariableNamingConventions` (`apex-codestyle`) has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. The rule is replaced by the more general rules `FieldNamingConventions`, `FormalParameterNamingConventions`, `LocalVariableNamingConventions`, and `PropertyNamingConventions`.

- The Java rule `LoggerIsNotStaticFinal` (`java-errorprone`) has been deprecated and will be removed with PMD 7.0.0. The rule is replaced by `ProperLogger`.

- The Java rule `DataflowAnomalyAnalysis` (`java-errorprone`) is deprecated in favour of `UnusedAssignment` (`java-bestpractices`), which was introduced in PMD 6.26.0.

- The java rule `DefaultPackage` has been deprecated in favor of `CommentDefaultAccessModifier`.

- The Java rule `CloneThrowsCloneNotSupportedException` has been deprecated without replacement.

- The following Java rules are deprecated and removed from the quickstart ruleset, as the new rule `SimplifiableTestAssertion` merges their functionality:
  - `UseAssertEqualsInsteadOfAssertTrue`
  - `UseAssertNullInsteadOfAssertTrue`
  - `UseAssertSameInsteadOfAssertTrue`
  - `UseAssertTrueInsteadOfAssertEquals`
  - `SimplifyBooleanAssertion`

- The Java rule `ReturnEmptyArrayRatherThanNull` is deprecated and removed from the quickstart ruleset, as the new rule `ReturnEmptyCollectionRatherThanNull` supersedes it.

- The following Java rules are deprecated and removed from the quickstart ruleset, as the new rule `PrimitiveWrapperInstantiation` merges their functionality:
  - `BooleanInstantiation`
  - `ByteInstantiation`
  - `IntegerInstantiation`
  - `LongInstantiation`
  - `ShortInstantiation`

- The Java rule `UnnecessaryWrapperObjectCreation` is deprecated with no planned replacement before PMD 7. In it’s current state, the rule is not useful as it finds only contrived cases of creating a primitive wrapper and unboxing it explicitly in the same expression. In PMD 7 this and more cases will be covered by a new rule `UnnecessaryBoxing`.

- Since 6.46.0: The following Java rules are deprecated and removed from the quickstart ruleset, as the new rule `EmptyControlStatement` merges their functionality:
  - `EmptyFinallyBlock`
  - `EmptyIfStmt`
  - `EmptyInitializer`
  - `EmptyStatementBlock`
  - `EmptySwitchStatements`
  - `EmptySynchronizedBlock`
  - `EmptyTryBlock`
  - `EmptyWhileStmt`
- Since 6.46.0: The Java rule `EmptyStatementNotInLoop` is deprecated and removed from the quickstart ruleset. Use the new rule `UnnecessarySemicolon` instead.