User-created mods constitute a meaningful portion of the game, but dissecting the game’s code has long been a nontrivial challenge.
Mojang Studios recently delighted the Minecraft modding community by announcing changes to the Java Edition intended to simplify mod creation.
Minecraft Java Edition is having obfuscation removed — going forward the game will be distributed using a different approach:
Historically, Java Edition has used obfuscation (the concealment of code segments) — a common practice in the games industry. We’re changing the release process for Minecraft: Java Edition to eliminate obfuscation entirely. We hope this shift will help create a future for Minecraft: Java Edition where building, updating, and debugging mods is far more straightforward.
For many years modders had no access to the Minecraft Java Edition source code, forcing enthusiasts to painstakingly reverse-engineer and piece together what each part does.
Starting with the next snapshot, Minecraft developers will begin publishing unobfuscated “experimental” builds alongside the obfuscated releases.
This will allow modders to run early tests, and Mojang plans to move entirely to unobfuscated builds in the near future.
Source: iXBT.games