By now, I agree that Java 1.4 as a minimum requirement doesn't make much sense anymore. We have given people enough of a transition period. Many Apache projects including many Commons components and also PDFBox have moved to Java 1.5 in the meantime, raising the bar for people still lagging behind in their environment.
What I don't support is jumping to Java 6 just now. Most Apache projects have moved from 1.4 to 1.5 but not necessarily 6. Platform support for 6 is not yet as good as for 1.5. Plus I'd like to hear why 6 is supposed to be technically better for XML Graphics (on the class library level, not the JVM). A few new convenience methods alone don't warrant the jump and the risk to alienate certain users. On 20.10.2010 20:53:28 Vincent Hennebert wrote: > Hi, > > The topic has already been mentioned several times in the past, at least > in the FOP area. The latest discussion we had was in August 2009: > http://markmail.org/message/y7iwptehnzujcuxm > It was decided then to release FOP 1.0 with Java 1.4 support, and do > a user community poll shortly afterwards. > > More than a year has passed now and I’d like to re-visit that topic, > with two modifications: > • make the decision at the project level. Homogenizing things a bit > wouldn’t hurt IMO. Specifically, Commons and FOP Trunk would switch to > 1.5 now, Batik would switch after the 1.8 release (which is about to > happen IIUC). > • I’m not sure that a poll still is necessary. It’s been almost 2 years > now that Java 1.4 has reached end of life. We are in the same > situation as when we dropped support for Java 1.3. > > Moreover, I think sticking to 1.4 is a growing impediment to the > development of the project. Simon ran into trouble when releasing 1.0: > http://markmail.org/message/ivlwk2dcmuk25woy > Proper internationalization can only be achieved starting from 1.5: > http://markmail.org/message/6n2w5tefarqp76iv > We recently upgraded Checkstyle to version 5.1 in FOP and that requires > Java 1.5. > > Using retroweaving tools is doable but adds complexity to the build and > is a hassle that I don’t think we can live with due to our limited > resources. > > I think it’s time to move on. If anybody really feels that a user poll > still is necessary, please speak up now. Otherwise, just wait a few days > that I launch an official vote on this. > > Thanks, > Vincent Jeremias Maerki --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
