Re:Java 21: The Nice, the Meh, and the Momentous
by Brystephor on Saturday September 23, 2023 @12:59PM
(#37625073)
I've never done a language upgrade. I don't know what it takes. I've heard 8->11 is painful and 11->17 is not. So doesn't that mean jumping from 8->17 directly is mostly the same as going from 8->11?
I'm not saying there is no benefit. I'm not saying there is no risk. I agree that going from 8->17 would be worse than 8->11->17.
My point is to list out reasons why a team may not be able to just spend a day upgrading (dependency issues) or why someone might not be given the time to do it.
Whether you perceive there to be no immediate benefit (hint: there is, Java 8 is an antiquated runtime) or not, delaying upgrading until Java 8 EOL is a way larger risk than upgrading now.