Deprecation should be marked with both the @Deprecated
annotation and @deprecated Javadoc tag. The annotation enables tools such as
IDEs to warn about referencing deprecated elements, and the tag can be used to explain when it was deprecated, why, and how references should be
refactored.
Further, Java 9 adds two additional arguments to the annotation:
since
allows you to describe when the deprecation took place forRemoval
, indicates whether the deprecated element will be removed at some future date If your compile level is Java 9 or higher, you should be using one or both of these arguments.
class MyClass { @Deprecated public void foo1() { } /** * @deprecated */ public void foo2() { // Noncompliant } }
class MyClass { /** * @deprecated (when, why, refactoring advice...) */ @Deprecated public void foo1() { } /** * Java >= 9 * @deprecated (when, why, refactoring advice...) */ @Deprecated(since="5.1") public void foo2() { } /** * Java >= 9 * @deprecated (when, why, refactoring advice...) */ @Deprecated(since="4.2", forRemoval=true) public void foo3() { } }
The members and methods of a deprecated class or interface are ignored by this rule. The classes and interfaces themselves are still subject to it.
/** * @deprecated (when, why, etc...) */ @Deprecated class Qix { public void foo() {} // Compliant; class is deprecated } /** * @deprecated (when, why, etc...) */ @Deprecated interface Plop { void bar(); }