Hi All,
The dependency has been there since JAX-RS 2.0. When we had discussed this previously we decided that we could not remove the dependency as that would be a breaking change. Instead we decided that user applications that use this API are responsible for providing the Jakarta XML Binding APIs and implementation
(either through their own app or through the vendor app server). Back in March, I added these lines to the Javadocs:
* Note that usage of this class requires the Jakarta XML Binding API and an implementation. The Jakarta RESTful Web
* Services implementation is not required to provide these dependencies.
So, what this means is that RESTful WS depends on XML Binding API at build time. The Link class is rarely used in user applications, but when it is, users must ensure that their runtime environment includes XML Binding APIs and an implementation. For most users, they will not need a runtime dependency on XML Binding.
At the time we discussed this, it was approved by the RESTful WS project and at least consensus reached by the platform committee, but if we don't like that answer now, I'm open to considering other options.
Hope this helps,
Andy