View source for FAQ How do I prevent my plug-in from being broken when I update Eclipse?

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Eclipse makes a careful distinction between published APIs and 
internal implementation details. The APIs are designed to 
reduce coupling between plug-ins to a small, stable interface.  This insulates clients
of the interface from being affected by implementation changes, and it
allows the plug-in that publishes the interface to continue to innovate and
grow without breaking existing clients. If your plug-in uses only published
API and carefully follows the API contracts defined in the API javadoc,
your plug-in should continue to work after migrating to a new Eclipse release.




In the Eclipse Platform, the API of a plug-in  includes all public classes and interfaces 
that do not have the word <i>internal</i> in their package names
and all public and protected methods in those classes and interfaces. The API
also includes all extension points that are not explicitly described as for internal
use only in their documentation; there is only a small handful of
such internal extension points.






== See Also: ==


Eclipse online article &#147;How to Use the Eclipse API&#148;


EclipseCon 2004 technical track presentation, &#147;Eclipse APIs: Lines in the Sand&#148
(http://www.eclipsecon.org).