Hi all,
We’re pleased to share the release plan for the Apache Cassandra Java
Driver.
The next release will be a major version, 5.0. Unlike the transition from
3.x to 4.x, this release will not introduce significant API breakage.
However, we do plan to drop support for Java 8 and Java 11, making Java 17
the minimum supported version.
Our rationale is as follows:
1. End-of-life status. Both Java 8 and Java 11 have reached end of life
(Oracle Premier Support)—Java 8 in March 2022 and Java 11 in September 2023.
2. User adoption trends. Based on our recent Java Driver user survey (22
responses):
- 75% are already running the driver on Java 17 or later
- 90% believe Java 17 or newer should be the minimum supported version
for 5.0
- 52% Java 17
- 38% Java 21
- Modern platform benefits. Building on Java 17 enables us to take
advantage of modern language features, tooling, and libraries—for example,
adopting Jackson 3.
In addition, the next 3.x release will be 3.13.0, which will support JDK 8+
(instead of JDK 6). We also plan to sunset the 3.x line in the near future,
and strongly encourage users to upgrade to the 4.x series.
To help with migration, please refer to the upgrade guide:
https://apache.github.io/cassandra-java-driver/4.19.0/upgrade-README/
Cheers,
The Apache Cassandra Java Driver Developers
