> > >> 1) I don't believe we should force users to migrate their code in > >> order to support java 7/8. > >> > > > > ...and that line of thinking is why it feels like commons projects are > > effectively stuck in the past. > > And maybe the ease of upgrade is why they are popular with users. >
Well, let's call that a theory. > > No one needs to upgrade. If your projects live in the past - there are > bug > > fix releases. > > That's not the case in general. Very few commons projects maintain > parallel releases. > Not something we couldn't change - but I was thinking larger scale. It's a common pattern elsewhere. > But if you want the new shiny then you as well should be OK to put in some > > effort to do so. > > Why should the user have to do so? > Because it's not everyone's vision is to work so others don't even have to lift a finger to gain the benefits. We are volunteers! Idealism aside: I think there is a line - maybe people draw them differently. Especially if we want to attract or welcome new developers we need to find a balance. As user or dev: You want the new shiny, you don't have to pay for it - the least you can do is to make some minor code adjustments. I'd call it a courtesy. And that's how it works for many other open source projects, too. Right now I don't see commons "stability" as a blessing - rather a curse. Release early, release often. If your API doesn't change with every release - people will probably forgive you ...and love you for supporting the latest and greatest. > Change should be easy - not just for our user but also for us. > > There are many more users than there are developers. > So? What's your point there? > My 2 cents > > Suppose there are 10 developers on BCEL; that's 20 cents. > > There may be 1000 or more users. > > That's 20 dollars. > 20 dollars no one of us will ever see. Have those 1000 user spend a dollar or two and maybe it will cover the cost of just this thread. I don't think that calculation will get us very far. cheers, Torsten
