Introduce @AdvancedEncodingApi and @SealedSerializationApi annotations

to be used with @SubclassOptInRequired.

These annotations allow for even more fine-grained API marking. We now can designate APIs
as public for use, but closed for implementation (@SealedSerializationApi) — the case for SerialDescriptor, which is a non-sealed interface for technical reasons.

The other annotation, @AdvancedEncodingApi is aimed to provide guidance on implementing custom encoders/decoders by pointing users to a documentation and guides.

Fixes #2366

Author: sandwwraith

build.gradle.kts

@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ val excludedFromBomProjects get() = unpublishedProjects + "kotlinx-serialization
 val experimentalsEnabled get() = listOf(
     "-progressive",
     "-opt-in=kotlin.ExperimentalMultiplatform",
+    "-opt-in=kotlin.ExperimentalSubclassOptIn",
     "-opt-in=kotlinx.serialization.InternalSerializationApi",
     "-P", "plugin:org.jetbrains.kotlinx.serialization:disableIntrinsic=false"
 )

buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/source-sets-conventions.gradle.kts

@@ -69,8 +69,10 @@ kotlin {
             progressiveMode = true
 
             optIn("kotlin.ExperimentalMultiplatform")
+            optIn("kotlin.ExperimentalSubclassOptIn")
             optIn("kotlin.ExperimentalStdlibApi")
             optIn("kotlinx.serialization.InternalSerializationApi")
+            optIn("kotlinx.serialization.SealedSerializationApi")
         }
     }
 
@@ -151,7 +153,9 @@ kotlin {
     sourceSets.matching({ it.name.contains("Test") }).configureEach {
         languageSettings {
             optIn("kotlinx.serialization.InternalSerializationApi")
+            optIn("kotlinx.serialization.SealedSerializationApi")
             optIn("kotlinx.serialization.ExperimentalSerializationApi")
+            optIn("kotlinx.serialization.encoding.AdvancedEncodingApi")
         }
     }
 

core/api/kotlinx-serialization-core.api

@@ -86,6 +86,9 @@ public final class kotlinx/serialization/SealedClassSerializer : kotlinx/seriali
 	public fun getDescriptor ()Lkotlinx/serialization/descriptors/SerialDescriptor;
 }
 
+public abstract interface annotation class kotlinx/serialization/SealedSerializationApi : java/lang/annotation/Annotation {
+}
+
 public abstract interface class kotlinx/serialization/SerialFormat {
 	public abstract fun getSerializersModule ()Lkotlinx/serialization/modules/SerializersModule;
 }
@@ -423,6 +426,9 @@ public abstract class kotlinx/serialization/encoding/AbstractEncoder : kotlinx/s
 	public fun shouldEncodeElementDefault (Lkotlinx/serialization/descriptors/SerialDescriptor;I)Z
 }
 
+public abstract interface annotation class kotlinx/serialization/encoding/AdvancedEncodingApi : java/lang/annotation/Annotation {
+}
+
 public abstract interface class kotlinx/serialization/encoding/ChunkedDecoder {
 	public abstract fun decodeStringChunked (Lkotlin/jvm/functions/Function1;)V
 }

core/api/kotlinx-serialization-core.klib.api

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
 // - Show declarations: true
 
 // Library unique name: <org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-serialization-core>
+open annotation class kotlinx.serialization.encoding/AdvancedEncodingApi : kotlin/Annotation { // kotlinx.serialization.encoding/AdvancedEncodingApi|null[0]
+    constructor <init>() // kotlinx.serialization.encoding/AdvancedEncodingApi.<init>|<init>(){}[0]
+}
+
 open annotation class kotlinx.serialization.internal/NamedCompanion : kotlin/Annotation { // kotlinx.serialization.internal/NamedCompanion|null[0]
     constructor <init>() // kotlinx.serialization.internal/NamedCompanion.<init>|<init>(){}[0]
 }
@@ -61,6 +65,10 @@ open annotation class kotlinx.serialization/Required : kotlin/Annotation { // ko
     constructor <init>() // kotlinx.serialization/Required.<init>|<init>(){}[0]
 }
 
+open annotation class kotlinx.serialization/SealedSerializationApi : kotlin/Annotation { // kotlinx.serialization/SealedSerializationApi|null[0]
+    constructor <init>() // kotlinx.serialization/SealedSerializationApi.<init>|<init>(){}[0]
+}
+
 open annotation class kotlinx.serialization/SerialInfo : kotlin/Annotation { // kotlinx.serialization/SerialInfo|null[0]
     constructor <init>() // kotlinx.serialization/SerialInfo.<init>|<init>(){}[0]
 }

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/Annotations.kt

@@ -376,3 +376,17 @@ public annotation class ExperimentalSerializationApi
 @Target(AnnotationTarget.CLASS, AnnotationTarget.PROPERTY, AnnotationTarget.FUNCTION, AnnotationTarget.TYPEALIAS)
 @RequiresOptIn(level = RequiresOptIn.Level.ERROR)
 public annotation class InternalSerializationApi
+
+/**
+ * Marks interfaces and non-final classes that can be freely referenced in users' code but should not be
+ * implemented or inherited. Such declarations are effectively `sealed` and do not have this modifier purely for technical reasons.
+ *
+ * kotlinx.serialization library provides compatibility guarantees for existing signatures of such classes;
+ * however, new functions or properties can be added to them in any release.
+ */
+@MustBeDocumented
+@Target(AnnotationTarget.CLASS)
+@RequiresOptIn(message = "This class or interface should not be inherited/implemented outside of kotlinx.serialization library. " +
+    "Note it is still permitted to use it directly. Read its documentation about inheritance for details.", level = RequiresOptIn.Level.ERROR)
+public annotation class SealedSerializationApi
+

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/descriptors/SerialDescriptor.kt

@@ -142,6 +142,8 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
  * might be added to this interface when kotlinx.serialization adds support for new Kotlin features.
  * This interface is safe to use and construct via [buildClassSerialDescriptor], [PrimitiveSerialDescriptor], and `SerialDescriptor` factory function.
  */
+// TODO: there was a phrase 'and is safe to delegate implementation to existing instances.' but it is not true unless we enable -Xjvm-default
+@SubclassOptInRequired(SealedSerializationApi::class)
 public interface SerialDescriptor {
     /**
      * Serial name of the descriptor that identifies a pair of the associated serializer and target class.

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/encoding/AbstractDecoder.kt

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.descriptors.*
  * See [Decoder] documentation for information about each particular `decode*` method.
  */
 @ExperimentalSerializationApi
+@SubclassOptInRequired(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public abstract class AbstractDecoder : Decoder, CompositeDecoder {
 
     /**

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/encoding/AbstractEncoder.kt

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.internal.*
  * See [Encoder] documentation for information about each particular `encode*` method.
  */
 @ExperimentalSerializationApi
+@SubclassOptInRequired(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public abstract class AbstractEncoder : Encoder, CompositeEncoder {
 
     override fun beginStructure(descriptor: SerialDescriptor): CompositeEncoder = this

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/encoding/Decoding.kt

@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
  * `Decoder` interface is not stable for inheritance in 3rd-party libraries, as new methods
  * might be added to this interface or contracts of the existing methods can be changed.
  */
+@SubclassOptInRequired(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public interface Decoder {
     /**
      * Context of the current serialization process, including contextual and polymorphic serialization and,
@@ -292,6 +293,7 @@ internal inline fun <T : Any> Decoder.decodeIfNullable(deserializer: Deserializa
  * `CompositeDecoder` interface is not stable for inheritance in 3rd party libraries, as new methods
  * might be added to this interface or contracts of the existing methods can be changed.
  */
+@SubclassOptInRequired(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public interface CompositeDecoder {
 
     /**

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/encoding/Encoding.kt

@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
  * `Encoder` interface is not stable for inheritance in 3rd party libraries, as new methods
  * might be added to this interface or contracts of the existing methods can be changed.
  */
+@SubclassOptInRequired(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public interface Encoder {
     /**
      * Context of the current serialization process, including contextual and polymorphic serialization and,
@@ -320,6 +321,7 @@ public interface Encoder {
  * `CompositeEncoder` interface is not stable for inheritance in 3rd party libraries, as new methods
  * might be added to this interface or contracts of the existing methods can be changed.
  */
+@SubclassOptInRequired(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public interface CompositeEncoder {
     /**
      * Context of the current serialization process, including contextual and polymorphic serialization and,

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/encoding/EncodingSubclassAnnotation.kt

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017-2024 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license.
+ */
+
+package kotlinx.serialization.encoding
+
+/**
+ * Marks all encoding- and decoding-related interfaces in kotlinx.serialization.
+ * These interfaces are used in serializers and have to be implemented only if you want to write
+ * a custom serialization format. Since encoder/decoder invariants are quite complex,
+ * it is recommended to start with reading their documentation: see [Encoder] and [Decoder],
+ * and [kotlinx.serialization guide](https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlinx.serialization/blob/master/docs/formats.md#custom-formats-experimental) about them.
+ * There are also existing skeleton implementations that you may find useful: [AbstractEncoder] and [AbstractDecoder].
+ */
+@RequiresOptIn(
+    "You should implement Encoder or Decoder only if you want to write a custom kotlinx.serialization format. " +
+        "Before doing so, please consult official guide at https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlinx.serialization/blob/master/docs/formats.md#custom-formats-experimental",
+    level = RequiresOptIn.Level.WARNING
+)
+public annotation class AdvancedEncodingApi

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/internal/NoOpEncoder.kt

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 /**
  * Encoder that does not do any operations. Its main purpose is to ignore data instead of writing it.
  */
-@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class)
+@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class, AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 internal object NoOpEncoder : AbstractEncoder() {
     override val serializersModule: SerializersModule = EmptySerializersModule()
 

core/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/internal/Tagged.kt

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
  * They neither do have stable API, nor internal invariants and are changed without any warnings.
  */
 @InternalSerializationApi
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public abstract class TaggedEncoder<Tag : Any?> : Encoder, CompositeEncoder {
 
     /**
@@ -176,6 +177,7 @@ public abstract class NamedValueEncoder : TaggedEncoder<String>() {
 }
 
 @InternalSerializationApi
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 public abstract class TaggedDecoder<Tag : Any?> : Decoder, CompositeDecoder {
     override val serializersModule: SerializersModule
         get() = EmptySerializersModule()

docs/formats.md

@@ -747,6 +747,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 -->
 
 ```kotlin
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListEncoder : AbstractEncoder() {
     val list = mutableListOf<Any>()
 
@@ -814,6 +815,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.descriptors.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListEncoder : AbstractEncoder() {
     val list = mutableListOf<Any>()
 
@@ -845,6 +847,7 @@ A decoder needs to implement more substance.
   each structure that is being recursively decoded keeps track of its own `elementIndex` state separately.  
 
 ```kotlin
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListDecoder(val list: ArrayDeque<Any>) : AbstractDecoder() {
     private var elementIndex = 0
 
@@ -922,6 +925,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.descriptors.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListEncoder : AbstractEncoder() {
     val list = mutableListOf<Any>()
 
@@ -942,6 +946,7 @@ inline fun <reified T> encodeToList(value: T) = encodeToList(serializer(), value
 -->
 
 ```kotlin
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListDecoder(val list: ArrayDeque<Any>) : AbstractDecoder() {
     private var elementIndex = 0
 
@@ -1009,6 +1014,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 -->
 
 ```kotlin
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListEncoder : AbstractEncoder() {
     val list = mutableListOf<Any>()
 
@@ -1042,6 +1048,7 @@ in addition to the previous code.
 > The formats that store collection size in advance have to return `true` from `decodeSequentially`.
 
 ```kotlin
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListDecoder(val list: ArrayDeque<Any>, var elementsCount: Int = 0) : AbstractDecoder() {
     private var elementIndex = 0
 
@@ -1114,6 +1121,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.descriptors.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListEncoder : AbstractEncoder() {
     val list = mutableListOf<Any>()
 
@@ -1147,6 +1155,7 @@ fun <T> encodeToList(serializer: SerializationStrategy<T>, value: T): List<Any>
 
 inline fun <reified T> encodeToList(value: T) = encodeToList(serializer(), value)
 
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class ListDecoder(val list: ArrayDeque<Any>, var elementsCount: Int = 0) : AbstractDecoder() {
     private var elementIndex = 0
     
@@ -1230,7 +1239,8 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 import java.io.*
 -->
 
-```kotlin            
+```kotlin
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class DataOutputEncoder(val output: DataOutput) : AbstractEncoder() {
     override val serializersModule: SerializersModule = EmptySerializersModule()
     override fun encodeBoolean(value: Boolean) = output.writeByte(if (value) 1 else 0)
@@ -1267,6 +1277,7 @@ inline fun <reified T> encodeTo(output: DataOutput, value: T) = encodeTo(output,
 The decoder implementation mirrors encoder's implementation overriding all the primitive `decodeXxx` functions.
 
 ```kotlin 
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class DataInputDecoder(val input: DataInput, var elementsCount: Int = 0) : AbstractDecoder() {
     private var elementIndex = 0
     override val serializersModule: SerializersModule = EmptySerializersModule()
@@ -1383,6 +1394,7 @@ we add a trivial implementation of `encodeCompactSize` function that uses only o
 a size of up to 254 bytes.  
 
 <!--- INCLUDE
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class DataOutputEncoder(val output: DataOutput) : AbstractEncoder() {
     override val serializersModule: SerializersModule = EmptySerializersModule()
     override fun encodeBoolean(value: Boolean) = output.writeByte(if (value) 1 else 0)
@@ -1438,6 +1450,7 @@ fun <T> encodeTo(output: DataOutput, serializer: SerializationStrategy<T>, value
 
 inline fun <reified T> encodeTo(output: DataOutput, value: T) = encodeTo(output, serializer(), value)
 
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 class DataInputDecoder(val input: DataInput, var elementsCount: Int = 0) : AbstractDecoder() {
     private var elementIndex = 0
     override val serializersModule: SerializersModule = EmptySerializersModule()

formats/cbor/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/cbor/CborDecoder.kt

@@ -25,9 +25,11 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
  * ```
  */
 @ExperimentalSerializationApi
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
+@SubclassOptInRequired(SealedSerializationApi::class)
 public interface CborDecoder : Decoder {
     /**
      * Exposes the current [Cbor] instance and all its configuration flags. Useful for low-level custom serializers.
      */
     public val cbor: Cbor
-}
+}

formats/cbor/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/cbor/CborEncoder.kt

@@ -25,9 +25,11 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
  * ```
  */
 @ExperimentalSerializationApi
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
+@SubclassOptInRequired(SealedSerializationApi::class)
 public interface CborEncoder : Encoder {
     /**
      * Exposes the current [Cbor] instance and all its configuration flags. Useful for low-level custom serializers.
      */
     public val cbor: Cbor
-}
+}

formats/cbor/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/cbor/internal/Decoder.kt

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.descriptors.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.modules.*
 
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 internal open class CborReader(override val cbor: Cbor, protected val parser: CborParser) : AbstractDecoder(),
     CborDecoder {
 

formats/cbor/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/cbor/internal/Encoder.kt

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ private fun Stack.peek() = last()
 
 // Writes class as map [fieldName, fieldValue]
 // Split implementation to optimize base case
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 internal sealed class CborWriter(
     override val cbor: Cbor,
     protected val output: ByteArrayOutput,

formats/json/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/json/JsonDecoder.kt

@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.descriptors.*
  * Accepting this interface in your API methods, casting [Decoder] to [JsonDecoder] and invoking its
  * methods is considered stable.
  */
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
+@SubclassOptInRequired(SealedSerializationApi::class)
 public interface JsonDecoder : Decoder, CompositeDecoder {
     /**
      * An instance of the current [Json].

formats/json/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/json/JsonEncoder.kt

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 package kotlinx.serialization.json
 
+import kotlinx.serialization.*
 import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
 
 /**
@@ -49,6 +50,8 @@ import kotlinx.serialization.encoding.*
  * Accepting this interface in your API methods, casting [Encoder] to [JsonEncoder] and invoking its
  * methods is considered stable.
  */
+@OptIn(AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
+@SubclassOptInRequired(SealedSerializationApi::class)
 public interface JsonEncoder : Encoder, CompositeEncoder {
     /**
      * An instance of the current [Json].

formats/json/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/json/internal/StreamingJsonDecoder.kt

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import kotlin.jvm.*
 /**
  * [JsonDecoder] which reads given JSON from [AbstractJsonLexer] field by field.
  */
-@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class)
+@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class, AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 internal open class StreamingJsonDecoder(
     final override val json: Json,
     private val mode: WriteMode,
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ public fun <T> decodeStringToJsonTree(
     return tree
 }
 
-@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class)
+@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class, AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 internal class JsonDecoderForUnsignedTypes(
     private val lexer: AbstractJsonLexer,
     json: Json

formats/json/commonMain/src/kotlinx/serialization/json/internal/StreamingJsonEncoder.kt

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ internal val SerialDescriptor.isUnsignedNumber: Boolean
 internal val SerialDescriptor.isUnquotedLiteral: Boolean
     get() = this.isInline && this == jsonUnquotedLiteralDescriptor
 
-@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class)
+@OptIn(ExperimentalSerializationApi::class, AdvancedEncodingApi::class)
 internal class StreamingJsonEncoder(
     private val composer: Composer,
     override val json: Json,