D5673 shows a use-case for this feature.

I'm pretty sure this breaks ABI by adding a new virtual function... If an application was compiled against a previous version of KTextEditor and calls documentSave(), when run with a newer KTextEditor version (with this patch) it may end up calling the new documentReload(ReloadDocument). With garbage in the first argument.

In D5656#106401, @nalvarez wrote:

I'm pretty sure this breaks ABI by adding a new virtual function... If an application was compiled against a previous version of KTextEditor and calls documentSave(), when run with a newer KTextEditor version (with this patch) it may end up calling the new documentReload(ReloadDocument). With garbage in the first argument.

Do you have any advice on how I would provide this functionality without breaking the ABI?

You can add the function as non-virtual one.

Then call the right one of the d pointer, like we do for other new introduced view stuff:

KTextEditor::Cursor View::maxScrollPosition() const
{

return d->maxScrollPositionInternal();

}

Its bit ugly, as you have to do that manually but its BC.

Make a protected constructor

Document::Document(DocumentPrivate &dd) : d(&dd) {}

In KateDocument extend DocumentPrivate with KateDocumentPrivate, override documentReload and give it to base Document

KateDocument(...) : Document(*new KateDocumentPrivate)

Then make documentReload public non-virtual in Document with implementation

d->documentReload(...) => which will call KateDocumentPrivate override function

See e.g. document.cpp:

QVector<KTextEditor::Range> Document::searchText(const KTextEditor::Range &range, const QString &pattern, const SearchOptions options) const
{

return d->searchText(range, pattern, options);

}

how one can do that.

Do we really need this? Or is this a reject?