Thanks for the write-up Andrew. +1 on its EOL'ing. S On Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 3:03 PM Andrew Purtell <apurt...@apache.org> wrote:
> Is it time to consider EOL of branch-1 and all 1.x releases ? > > There doesn't seem to be much developer interest in branch-1 beyond > occasional maintenance. This is understandable. Per our compatibility > guidelines, branch-1 commits must be compatible with Java 7, and the range > of acceptable versions of third party dependencies is also restricted due > to Java 7 compatibility requirements. Most developers are writing code with > Java 8+ idioms these days. For that reason and because the branch-1 code > base is generally aged at this point, all but trivial (or lucky!) backports > require substantial changes in order to integrate adequately. Let me also > observe that branch-1 artifacts are not fully compatible with Java 11 or > later. (The shell is a good example of such issues: The version of > jruby-complete required by branch-1 is not compatible with Java 11 and > upgrading to the version used by branch-2 causes shell commands to error > out due to Ruby language changes.) > > We can a priori determine there is insufficient motivation for production > of release artifacts for the PMC to vote upon. Otherwise, someone would > have done it. We had 12 releases from branch-2 derived code in 2019, 13 > releases from branch-2 derived code in 2020, and so far we have had 3 > releases from branch-2 derived code in 2021. In contrast, we had 8 releases > from branch-1 derived code in 2019, 0 releases from branch-1 in 2020, and > so far 0 releases from branch-1 in 2021. > > * 2021202020191.x0282.x31312* > > If there is someone interested in continuing branch-1, now is the time to > commit. However let me be clear that simply expressing an abstract desire > to see continued branch-1 releases will not be that useful. It will be > noted, but will not have much real world impact. Apache is a do-ocracy. In > the absence of intrinsic motivation of project participants, which is what > we seem to have here, you will need to do something: Fix the compatibility > issues, if any between the last release of 1.x and the current branch-1 > head; fix any failing and flaky unit tests; produce release artifacts; and > submit those artifacts to the PMC for voting. Or, convince someone with > commit rights and/or PMC membership to undertake these actions on your > behalf. > > Otherwise, I respectfully submit for your consideration, it is time to > declare branch-1 and all 1.x code lines EOL, simply acknowledging what has > effectively already happened. > > -- > Best regards, > Andrew > > Words like orphans lost among the crosstalk, meaning torn from truth's > decrepit hands > - A23, Crosstalk >