census-instrumentation
Consider using tools to check backward compatibility.
This is a part of #858, which introduces some API changes that might break backward compatibility. Besides code review, we need something more automated.
Currently I am looking at JAPICC but haven't figure out whether to it is useful and should be included in the project. The discussion is left open.
I've tried the tool and it can generate a general useful report for the compatibility. See examples here. It does generate a score to evaluate compatibility between different version of jars, as well as detailed information (severity, possible effects) on each affected API. However it might generate false-positive result on AutoValue class change.
It is nice to have individually but I don't think it should be enforced as a team-wide tool. Close this issue for now.
I think it would still be useful to mention the tool in RELEASING.md, so that we can manually run it before making a release. That could help us avoid accidentally releasing incompatible changes or help with writing release notes.
