Re: RFC: Make new versions of pgjdbc Java8+ - Mailing list pgsql-jdbc

I strongly support the drop of old Java versions, and I'm one that thinks we should use the latest and greatest version of Java :-) but, for much I want to that happen it's hard to simply "drop" 2 Java version at once.

[...]

Now let's get some facts:

• The PgJDBC project is ultra-conservative, there is still support for PostgreSQL 8.2 which the EOL was on Dec 2011, I think that up to 8.4 would make sense and even a more radical approach to follow the EOL of the server itself (drop support for Pg9.1 and lower) it's for me acceptable, most people that use ancient PostgreSQL versions uses ancient driver versions, and it's not common to update the driver for those versions anyway.

    +1 for 8.4+

• The limited resources/voluntary work, makes hard to have support for many branches, so the "dead" of a version means no fixes/backports to that version anymore, it's a linear development where there is no look back, if Java 6 and/or Java 7 is dropped, it means the last version that supported them are "frozen" and any potential bug will be there forever.
  

   
    Agreed. Also in this line: Java8 may encourage more developers to join. Few developers I know would volunteer to contribute code without being able to use Java8. YMMV.

• The End of Public Updates of Oracle JDK 6 was on Feb 2013, but there is an "premier" and "extended" support (paid of course) where the "extended" ends on Dec 2018.
• If you ask me, we should stick to the "premier" support dates for the PgJDBC, so basically Java 6 should have died in Dec 2015.
  
• Following the "premier" support, Java 7 should be dropped until Jul 2019.

    So.... we are going to be favoring customers paying extra premium fees to Oracle.... don't count with me! ^_^

    I don't agree. For me EOL is EOL, not premier.

• The Oracle JDK it's not the only JDK so the End of Public Updates from Oracle should not dictate the kill of a Java version, there is OpenJDK.
• The OpenJDK/IcedTea team, drop support for Java 6 just recently.

    Fair enough. But as a simple example, neither openjdk6 nor openjdk7 are available in my Ubuntu distro (16.04, not even bleeding edge).

• The Azul Zulu team still supports Java 6 (at least I haven't hear the drop of support).

So +1 for drop support for Java 6, and -1 for drop support for Java 7.

    Still unconvinced of a strong reason to keep support for Java 7. My +1 for Java8+.

And BTW, a drop of a Java version should increase the major version of the driver, so when that happens it should be called 43.0.0

    Absolutely necessary :)


    Cheers,

    Álvaro

-- 

Álvaro Hernández Tortosa


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