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Seems like Java9 forces more and more useless boilerplate needed for Jigsaw. Not sure I would call it a progress.

Not really: using modules is completely optional. Small applications likely won't benefit from the structure and guarantees modules offer. Large-scale applications, however, will certainly benefit from strong encapsulation and explicit dependencies all enforced from compile-time through run-time (and adding an optional linking step for modules with jlink).

(full disclosure: I'm author of Java 9 Modularity, O'Reilly, see https://javamodularity.com)

How does it relate to OSGi? Also, if just one library uses modules, does it force modularization of everything else or can these two coexist in a reliable fashion?

Great questions.

- OSGi: offers run-time modularization (based on classloaders), with a more dynamic model (bundles can start/stop/load/unload). Often derided for its complexity, which Jigsaw has tried to reduce (in part by offering a less dynamic model)

- Forced modularization: fortunately, Java 9 has many migration features to allow incremental modularization. Most notable are automatic modules, which allow you to treat non-modularized JARs as modules, and interoperation between automatic modules and the classpath

Hope this helps.

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