This is an automated email from the ASF dual-hosted git repository.
davidradl pushed a commit to branch asf-site
in repository https://gitbox.apache.org/repos/asf/flink-web.git
The following commit(s) were added to refs/heads/asf-site by this push:
new 9a186115eb Add April 2026 Flink community update blog post (#839)
9a186115eb is described below
commit 9a186115eb5016f1426288fb80ef12b68eee1fa2
Author: Julian <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Wed May 6 17:09:19 2026 +0100
Add April 2026 Flink community update blog post (#839)
* Add April 2026 Flink community update blog post
Signed-off-by: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Julian Payne <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: [email protected] <[email protected]>
---
docs/content/posts/2026-04-13-community-update.md | 171 ++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 171 insertions(+)
diff --git a/docs/content/posts/2026-04-13-community-update.md
b/docs/content/posts/2026-04-13-community-update.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7132c875e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/content/posts/2026-04-13-community-update.md
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+---
+authors:
+- jlpayne72: null
+ name: Julian Payne
+- davidrad: null
+ name: David Radley
+date: "2026-04-13T08:00:00Z"
+excerpt: Flink Community update for April 2026
+title: Flink Community update for April 2026
+aliases:
+- /news/2026/04/13/community-update.html
+---
+
+This is the monthly Flink Community update for April 2026. We scour the latest
updates from the Flink community so you don't have to!
+
+<!--more-->
+
+We'll dive into a few hot topics and FLIPs (Flink Improvement Proposals)
before providing the usual almanac-style listing of technical updates,
user-facing updates, and governance and community.
+
+
+<!-- TOC -->
+ * [Hot topics](#hot-topics)
+ * [Apache Flink 2.3 Release Draws
Nearer](#apache-flink-23-release-draws-nearer)
+ * [Table API & SQL](#table-api--sql)
+ * [Runtime & Execution](#runtime--execution)
+ * [Checkpointing & State](#checkpointing--state)
+ * [Metrics & Observability](#metrics--observability)
+ * [Python & Multi-language Support](#python--multi-language-support)
+ * [New Releases](#new-releases)
+ * [Apache Flink CDC 3.6.0 Release](#apache-flink-cdc-360-release)
+ * [Apache Flink Agents 0.2.1 Release](#apache-flink-agents-021-release)
+ * [Governance and Community](#governance-and-community)
+ * [Stateful Functions Sub-Project Being
Sunsetted](#stateful-functions-sub-project-being-sunsetted)
+ * [FLIP (accepted)](#flip-accepted)
+ * [FLIPs Being Discussed](#flips-being-discussed)
+ * [Table/SQL evolution](#tablesql-evolution)
+ * [Operations and platform
management](#operations-and-platform-management)
+ * [Staying up to date](#staying-up-to-date)
+<!-- TOC -->
+
+## Hot topics
+
+### Apache Flink 2.3 Release Draws Nearer
+
+Four months after the [release of Flink
2.2](https://flink.apache.org/2025/12/04/apache-flink-2.2.0-advancing-real-time-data--ai-and-empowering-stream-processing-for-the-ai-era/)
(December 4th 2025), we are hotly anticipating the release of Flink 2.3.
+The code freeze for Apache Flink 2.3 is planned for April 14th and at time of
writing we anticipate the version to be launched soon.
+Some of the main features in this release will include important updates to
Materialized Tables for Flink SQL, OTel gRPC exporter and watermark alignment
for backlogged jobs in Runtime, and in Connectors, an update to the S3 FileSink
connector.
+Stay tuned to this blog for the release announcement with full details.
+We will also restructure the Flink documentation to make it easier to navigate
for new and existing users.
+You can see the full release scope
[here](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/2.3+Release).
+
+
+### Table API & SQL
+
+Continued work on Materialized Tables including `START_MODE` clause parser
support ([FLINK-39304](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39304)),
interval reuse for `FRESHNESS` and `START MODE`, and `CREATE OR ALTER` now
correctly respects existing table schemas
([FLINK-39284](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39284)).
`TO_CHANGELOG` retract/upsert stream conversion was also added.
+
+`BITMAP` Type support was introduced end-to-end: the core data type
([FLINK-38852](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-38852),
[FLINK-39185](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39185)), scalar
functions ([FLINK-39186](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39186)),
aggregate functions
([FLINK-39187](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39187)), and
documentation
([FLINK-39188](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39188)).
+
+Join Operations saw cascaded delta join support merged
([FLINK-39233](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39233)), lookup join
after delta join
([FLINK-39174](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39174)), and
immutable column sink mode traits
([FLINK-39287](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39287)). This
removes restrictions, allowing the delta join to be used in more scenarios.
+
+Code generation and correctness work included: NDU analyzer improvements for
non-deterministic function detection
([FLINK-39313](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39313)), duplicate
function instance elimination
([FLINK-39094](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39094)), filter
optimisation for upsert key groups
([FLINK-39314](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39314)), a UDF
lambda expression argument fix
([FLINK-39273](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FL [...]
+
+### Runtime & Execution
+
+The end of the month saw rescale enhancements with the rescale history
recording statistics
([FLINK-38343](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-38343)) and rescale
information ([FLINK-38342](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-38342)).
A configurable `ExecutionGraph` cache TTL was introduced
([FLINK-39016](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39016)), and the
Flink Web UI was updated to surface rescale and configuration data for adaptive
scheduler jobs ([FLINK-38901 [...]
+
+### Checkpointing & State
+
+Unaligned checkpoint recovery gained a new configuration option
([FLINK-38541](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-38541)), giving
operators finer control over recovery behaviour under failure conditions.
Session-mode HA recovery has been enhanced with
[FLINK-38975](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-38975), introducing
new Application stores for running and terminated applications.
+
+### Metrics & Observability
+
+gRPC batch export support was added to the metrics pipeline
([FLINK-39126](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39126)), providing a
more robust export using gRPC for jobs with large numbers of operators or tasks.
+
+### Python & Multi-language Support
+
+Python users gained support for multiple compression formats in `python.files`
([FLINK-39260](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39260)), expanding
deployment flexibility for Python UDF bundles.
+
+## New Releases
+
+### Apache Flink CDC 3.6.0 Release
+
+- **Announcement:** [Apache Flink CDC 3.6.0 Release
Announcement](https://flink.apache.org/2026/03/30/apache-flink-cdc-3.6.0-release-announcement/)
— *Yanquan Lv, March 30*
+- **Release Manager:** Yanquan Lv
+- **Key highlights:**
+ - Extended Flink version support to 1.20.x and 2.2.x
+ - Upgraded minimum JDK to version 11
+ - New connectors added
+ - Expanded schema evolution capabilities
+ - PostgreSQL pipeline connector schema change support
([FLINK-38959](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-38959))
+ - Oracle pipeline support for column nullable changes
([FLINK-39196](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39196))
+
+### Apache Flink Agents 0.2.1 Release
+
+- **Announcement:** [Apache Flink Agents 0.2.1 Release
Announcement](https://flink.apache.org/2026/03/26/apache-flink-agents-0-2-1-release-announcement/)
— *Wenjin Xie, March 26*
+- **Release Manager:** Wenjin Xie
+- **Key highlights:**
+ - 3 targeted bug fixes
+ - Vulnerability fixes
+ - Minor improvements
+
+## Governance and Community
+
+### Stateful Functions Sub-Project Being Sunsetted
+
+[Stateful
Functions](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-569%3A+Sunset+the+Stateful+Functions+%28StateFun%29+Sub-project)
(StateFun) is being sunsetted, due to lack of activity.
+
+### FLIP (accepted)
+
+Flink Improvement Proposals or FLIPs are the mechanism by which the community
propose new features and initiatives.
+
+*
**[FLIP-557](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-557%3A+Granular+Control+over+Data+Reprocessing+in+Materialized+Table+Evolution):
Granular Control over Data Reprocessing in Materialized Table Evolution.**
(Ramin Gharib)
+- Gives users finer control over which partitions are reprocessed when a
materialized table definition changes.
+
+### FLIPs Being Discussed
+
+The main FLIPs being discussed or opened this month fit into two categories:
+- Table/SQL evolution, continuing the strategy to enhance the easy-to-use,
standards-based SQL interface.
+- Operations and platform management.
+
+#### Table/SQL evolution
+
+*
**[FLIP-556](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-556%3A+Introduce+BITMAP+Data+Type):
Introduce BITMAP Data Type.** (Lincoln Lee)
+- Introduces the BITMAP data type for efficient storage and set operations on
large collections of integers.
+
+*
**[FLIP-564](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-564%3A+Support+FROM_CHANGELOG+and+TO_CHANGELOG+built-in+PTFs):
Support FROM_CHANGELOG and TO_CHANGELOG built-in PTFs.** (Gustavo de Morais)
+- Enables PTFs to declare that they take in or produce CDC (Change Data
Capture) information in change logs.
+- This brings another DataStream capability into the SQL world.
+- `FROM_CHANGELOG` enables custom SQL connectors by handling custom CDC
formats.
+- `TO_CHANGELOG` enables creating a CDC append stream from a Flink Table.
+
+*
**[FLIP-565](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-565%3A+Improve+ProcessTableFunctions+for+late+data+handling+and+state+access):
Improve ProcessTableFunctions for late data handling and state access.** (Timo
Walther)
+- Avoids dropping late data in ProcessTableFunctions, where data loss is
usually not intended.
+- Introduces `ValueView` to enable a supplier pattern for state access,
similar to `MapView` and `ListView`.
+- Introduces `BROADCAST_SEMANTIC_TABLE` as a new kind of argument to PTFs.
+
+*
**[FLIP-566](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-566%3A+Introduce+a+new+IMMUTABLE+columns+constraint):
Introduce a new IMMUTABLE columns constraint.** (Xuyang Zhong)
+- Introduces IMMUTABLE columns so delta joins can rely on stable join keys for
correct processing.
+
+*
**[FLIP-567](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-567%3A+Introduce+a+ProcessTableFunction+Test+Harness):
Introduce a ProcessTableFunction Test Harness.** (Mika Naylor)
+- Proposes a standard test harness for validating PTFs.
+
+*
**[FLIP-568](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-568%3A+Strict+BYTES-to-STRING+CAST+with+UTF-8+Validation+Utilities):
Strict BYTES-to-STRING CAST with UTF-8 Validation Utilities.** (Gustavo de
Morais)
+- Proposes a strict form of `CAST(bytes AS STRING)` that does not silently
replace invalid UTF-8 bytes with `U+FFFD`.
+
+#### Operations and platform management
+
+*
**[FLIP-504](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=337677650):
Blue/Green Deployments for Flink on Kubernetes: Phase 2 (coordination).**
(Timo Walther)
+- Continues work on blue/green deployments for Flink on Kubernetes, focusing
on coordination.
+
+*
**[FLIP-570](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-570%3A+Support+Runtime+Data+Sampling+for+Operators+with+WebUI+Visualization):
Support Runtime Data Sampling for Operators with WebUI Visualization.**
(Jiangang Liu)
+- Proposes runtime data sampling with Web UI support so operators can inspect
live data for troubleshooting and anomaly investigation.
+
+*
**[FLIP-571](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-571%3A+Support+Dynamically+Updating+Checkpoint+Configuration+at+Runtime+via+REST+API):
Support Dynamically Updating Checkpoint Configuration at Runtime via REST
API.** (Jiangang Liu)
+- Proposes updating checkpoint configuration dynamically via REST API so
variable workloads can be managed in real time.
+
+*
**[FLIP-572](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/FLINK/FLIP-572%3A+Introduce+Flink-Kafka+Transactions+Management+Tool):
Introduce Flink-Kafka Transactions Management Tool.** (Aleksandr Savonin)
+- Proposes a CLI for handling Kafka transactions stuck in the ONGOING state by
committing or aborting them.
+
+## Staying up to date
+
+There are several ways that you can keep up to date with what is happening in
the Flink community.
+For a full list see [here](https://flink.apache.org/what-is-flink/community/).
+
+* Follow this blog.
+An [RSS feed](https://flink.apache.org/posts/index.xml) is available.
+* Subscribe to one of the [Flink community mailing
lists](https://flink.apache.org/community.html#mailing-lists).
+Two popular mailing lists are:
+ * the [dev list](https://lists.apache.org/[email protected])
for development related discussions
+ * the [user
list](https://lists.apache.org/[email protected]) for user
support and questions
+* Join the [Apache Flink Slack
group](https://flink.apache.org/what-is-flink/community/#slack).
