Framework Versions, Deprecation & Upgrading

I am new to Vaadin and had a few quick question about its Framework Versions. I see that certain older versions such as Vaadin 8 and 10, are not considered to be deprecated, whereas other versions, such as Vaadin 11 and 12, are.

My Questions

  • I’m just curious as to why significantly older versions (8 and 10) are still “viable” whereas recent versions (11 and 12) have been deprecated?
  • How often are new major versions (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, etc.) released?
  • Are new major Framework Versions made to be backwards compatible? How difficult is it generally to upgrade to a new major version?

Hi Zac. Welcome!

  • We have the concept of Long-Term Supported (LTS) versions and cutting edge versions. A new version is released every three months where most are cutting edge, and with max 2 years intervals we stamp one of the versions to LTS when we deem the feature set good and complete. LTS versions are supported 5 years for free and an extra 10 commercially, and cutting edge versions four months10 and 14 are LTS while 11, 12, 13 in between were cutting edge. 15 forward will again be cutting edge. 8 and older used a different release model. So today 8 and 10 are still within the five year period and supported. 7 expired in the spring. Check https://vaadin.com/roadmap for more info!
  • As mentioned above. every 3 months a new version, and then the LTS stamp with max 2 years intervals.
  • We want to move the product forward, while still making it possible to migrate as easy as possible. It is a balance between the two, and we provide migration guides and migration tools between the major versions. between 7 and 8 the data binding API changed. Between 8 and 10 the components and client side structure were modernized. Between 10 and 14, we are updating the client side techs to match how the web development in general has gone (from HTML Imports and Bower to ES Modules and npm). Release pages have migration notes at the bottom, e.g. https://vaadin.com/releases/vaadin-14

Hope that gave some clarifications. Ask away if you have something else.

Thanks so much Jens! Your answers all make total sense. If its okay, I just have a few followup questions for you:

  • Is Vaadin 13 considered cutting edge or LTS? If its “cutting edge”, then is Vaadin 10 the most recent LTS version available?
  • Is Vaadin 14 planned to be cutting edge or LTS?

Thanks again!

Hi Zac,

13 is considered “cutting edge”, 10 is the most recent LTS version and 14 will be the next one. More info about our roadmap here
https://vaadin.com/roadmap

Thanks Erik!