Addeddepending

Addeddepending is a term used in software engineering to describe a change that introduces new dependencies to a project. It denotes situations where the primary impact of a change is adding one or more external libraries, modules, or components that the codebase will rely on, rather than altering core logic directly. The concept can apply to direct dependencies as well as to transitive dependencies that become required through the change.

Etymology and scope: the word is a portmanteau of added and depending, reflecting the idea that a change adds new things that other parts of the system will depend on. It is not a universally standardized term and may appear in specific teams, tooling, or discussions about dependency management. In practice, addeddepending focuses on the dependency surface created by a change, rather than on its functional behavior alone.

Usage and examples: in version control, continuous integration, or project management workflows, an addeddepending annotation or tag may accompany a commit or pull request to signal that the change affects the project’s dependency graph. This can help reviewers anticipate tasks such as updating manifests (for example, package.json, pom.xml, or requirements.txt), running dependency resolution, and updating lockfiles. It also informs testers to verify build stability and compatibility with the newly introduced dependencies.

Limitations and context: because addeddepending is not a standardized term, its meaning can vary by organization. It is most useful when teams want to explicitly track changes that alter the dependency surface, as opposed to changes that modify logic or features without adding new requirements.

See also: dependency management, package manager, build system, transitive dependency.