No Dependencies, No Plugins - Just Native OpenTelemetry

Explore how to implement truly optional OpenTelemetry dependencies in client libraries without compromising functionality or user experience in this 18-minute conference talk. Learn why traditional approaches like abstractions, plugins, and bridges create poor user experiences and diamond dependency problems, then discover how to achieve native OpenTelemetry integration that activates only when OpenTelemetry is present on the classpath. Examine the implementation details, performance characteristics, and reliability of this approach through real-world examples from Azure SDKs for Java, including how to implement fallback mechanisms using logs-based tracing when OpenTelemetry is unavailable. Understand the technical strategies for avoiding transitive dependencies while maintaining full telemetry capabilities and context propagation, enabling library developers to provide seamless observability without forcing dependencies on their users.