On Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 10:37 AM Mark Thomas <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 28/01/2026 21:52, Rémy Maucherat wrote: > > On Tue, Jan 27, 2026 at 6:40 PM Mark Thomas <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> Hi, > >> > >> I am expecting Tomcat 12 to be released - or get close to release - in > >> the next 12 months. Following our usual pattern, that means we'd > >> deprecate 9.0.x around the same time. > >> > >> The first 9.0.x release was November 2015 with the first stable release > >> in January 2018. > >> > >> We have previously discussed various forms of extended Tomcat 9 support > >> because it is the last Tomcat version that supports that Java EE API. > >> > >> With the above in mind, I'd like to propose the following: > >> > >> - Set EOL for 9.0.x as 31 March 2027 > >> > >> - Plan for 9.1.x releases to start in April 2027 > >> > >> - 9.1.x to different from 9.0.x in the following ways (all aligned with > >> 10.1.x): > >> - No APR support > > > > +1 > > Technically since we're making a new branch, we could also drop NIO2, > > but I would like to keep it since NIO has some issues on Java < 17. > > > >> - Require Tomcat Native 2.x (was 1.3.x) > > > > +1 > > > >> - Minimum Java version is 11 > > > > -1, unfortunately. People are on Tomcat 9 because of Java EE, and they > > won't be able to upgrade from Java 8. I fear updating Java would mean > > killing off the branch, and we would put a lot of effort into a dead > > product basically. > > The Java 8 EOL is actually at 2030, about the same as the newer Java > > versions that came after, so supporting it for some time more is > > reasonable. It is also possible to keep using Java 25 to compile the > > releases. > > OK. Java 8 EOL is a lot later than Java 11 EOL so that is another > argument for staying on Java 8. > > Do we want to say that 9.x will be supported until at least 31 Dec 2030?
I slept over this, so I am more mixed on this now, and I'm still thinking about it ... On one hand supporting Java 8 to its EOL date would be very beneficial for many users, on the other hand simply rebasing to the 10.1 code would be very beneficial for us. If the jump is made to Java 11, then upgrading to newer versions later if needed is much easier. However, I fear the migration off Java 8 will be enough to kill off Tomcat 9, making subsequent versions pointless. In that scenario, having to support 9.1 with very few actual users could lead to a waste of resources, even if backporting patches themselves from 10.1 is easy. Anyway, I'd like to volunteer to RM and produce this base 9.1 version if it happens, since I'm so involved with 9.0 already. Rémy > > Mark > > > > >> Other, minor, enhancements may be back-ported from 10.1.x to 9.1.x. > >> Ideally, 9.1.x becomes 10.1x but with the Java EE API. > >> > >> All of the above to be announced in around a month's time. > >> > >> Thoughts? > > > > Rémy > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
