[IdPv3] Targeting Java 7

[Kaspar Brand]

On 19.10.11 21:09, Chad La Joie wrote:
> The developers have been discussing the possibility of targeting Java
> 7 for our next major release of our software.  This is primarily due
> to the EOL of Java 6 in July 2012 (i.e. in about 8 months) which is
> right around the time of the OpenSAML and IdP v3 releases.

Looking at it from a sysadmin's/deployer's perspective, I'm not sure if
too much emphasis should be put on the EOL date for Oracle's Java 6
runtime environment.

> Java 7 packages are currently available as MSI, RPM, and DEB packages.
> OS X support is under development and taking a bit longer as Apple
> transitions its JRE code over to the OpenJDK project.

When it comes to Linux (which is by far the most popular platform for
IdPs in the SWITCHaai federation), the decisive factor should be what
the version of the default/supported JRE bundled with the OS is, IMO. In
recent years, most Linux distributions began bundling OpenJDK as their
Java VM of choice.

Of particular interest are the enterprise flavors of those Linux
distributions, I think, and my current assessment leads me to believe
that by mid-2012, most (if not all) enterprise Linux distributions in
widespread use at that time will still have [OpenJDK] Java 6 as their
default. This also means that vendors like Red Hat, SUSE or Ubuntu will
provide support for Java 6 runtime environments for quite a few years to
come - including backported fixes from Java 7, if needed.

Making Java 7 a minimum requirement for the IdP v3 therefore seems
premature to me, and might slow down the adoption of / migration to the
next major IdP release in the Shibboleth user base.

Kaspar