Add Java Feature Flags Setup Documentation #33194
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- Add comprehensive Java SDK onboarding guide - Include installation instructions for Maven and Gradle - Document OpenFeature provider initialization and usage - Add code examples for all flag types (boolean, string, int, double, object) - Document error handling and common error codes - Include best practices and troubleshooting guide - Add Java to feature flags setup page navigation - Document integration with Datadog APM and exposure tracking Related: FFE Server SDK code freeze preparation
…ocumentation
Critical fixes:
- Add missing dd-java-agent-feature-flagging-bootstrap dependency to all examples
- Add Building from Source section with detailed instructions
- Explain bootstrap module purpose (classloader communication)
- Add troubleshooting for ClassNotFoundException
Improvements to match Java APM documentation patterns:
- Add application server configuration tabs (Spring Boot, Tomcat, JBoss, Jetty, Docker)
- Update all code examples to use SLF4J logger instead of System.out/err
- Add Compatibility requirements section
- Add Getting started section
- Update initialization example to show complete application structure
Code quality:
- Use logger.info/warn/error throughout with parameterized messages
- Show proper exception handling with logger
- Match actual implementation in ffe-dogfooding repo
- Include named client usage ("my-app")
The documentation now accurately reflects the required dependencies,
follows established Datadog docs patterns, and provides complete
setup instructions for the development build.
Contributor
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Changes: - Add cross-linking to Configuration section from early warning - Add OpenFeature SDK to compatibility requirements (it is required) - Remove all local build instructions (only reference published X.X.X versions) - Add skip guidance for users with existing agent/remote-config setup - Clarify ProviderNotReadyError is OpenFeature exception (optional handling) - Update exception handling to be optional based on availability requirements - Note that not catching exception may prevent application startup Improvements: - Users with existing APM can skip to provider initialization - Users with existing remote-config can skip agent configuration - Clear guidance on when exception handling is optional vs required - Removed all references to building from source
…aring Changes: - Add PROVIDER_ERROR and PROVIDER_STALE event listeners to async init example - Note that PROVIDER_CONFIGURATION_CHANGED is optional (depends on provider support) - Update multiple clients section: "organize context and flags" (not just flags) - Clarify that Provider instance is shared globally (client names are organizational only) The Provider constructor doesn't take a name parameter - it's a single shared instance. Named clients are just for organizing your application code, not separate providers.
Changes: - Update all flag keys to use dot notation (matching Android/iOS): * new-checkout-flow -> checkout.new * ui-theme -> ui.theme * payment-api-endpoint -> payment.api.endpoint * max-retries -> retries.max * discount-rate -> pricing.discount.rate * feature-config -> ui.config * All other flags updated to dot notation - Standardize attribute to use "tier" consistently (not "plan") - Remove "country" attribute from basic example to match mobile simplicity This creates consistency across all SDK documentation and makes it easier for users to migrate between platforms or reference examples.
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WORK IN PROGRESS
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Opened DOCS-12847 to follow up with editorial review. |
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leoromanovsky
approved these changes
Dec 9, 2025
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leoromanovsky
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Very thorough! I'm going to reference this structure in the golang one, thank you
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| <div class="alert alert-warning"><strong>Important:</strong> Feature flagging requires both <code>DD_REMOTE_CONFIG_ENABLED=true</code> and <code>DD_EXPERIMENTAL_FLAGGING_PROVIDER_ENABLED=true</code>. Without the experimental flag, the feature flagging system does not start.</div> |
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please say what the impact will be so readers understand - i.e. your flags will evaluate to programmatic defaults
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| ### 3. Create context once | ||
| Create the evaluation context once per request/user/session and reuse it for all flag evaluations: |
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not doing this will incur additional cost
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| Feature flags automatically integrate with Datadog APM: | ||
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| - **Trace Correlation**: Flag evaluations are automatically correlated with APM traces | ||
| - **Performance Impact**: Track how feature flags affect application performance | ||
| - **Error Tracking**: See which flags were active when errors occurred |
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What does this PR do? What is the motivation?
Adds comprehensive Java Feature Flags setup documentation to support the upcoming release of Feature Flags for Java in
dd-trace-javavX.X.XThis PR fixes critical documentation gaps discovered while dogfooding the Java implementation:
Improvements to Match Patterns:
/tracing/trace_collection/automatic_instrumentation/dd_libraries/java.md)System.out/errClassNotFoundExceptionNew Content:
Merge instructions
Merge readiness:
Dependencies:
dd-trace-javav1.57.0+ with Feature Flags supportAdditional notes
Testing: All code examples verified against working implementation in
DataDog/ffe-dogfooding/apps/javaRelated Work:
DataDog/ffe-dogfooding(apps/java)DataDog/dd-trace-java(products/feature-flagging)