Upcoming IzPack Release 6.x.x – Minimum Java Version Update

[Patrick Reinhart]

Hi everyone,

As we begin work on the upcoming IzPack 6.x.x release, we plan to raise the minimum required Java version to at least 11, possibly even higher

We understand that many users still need to support older Java versions, and we recognize the challenges this may bring. It’s also unfortunate that Oracle continues to promote Java 8 as the standard end-user version, which doesn’t help in this transition.

This decision was not made lightly but is driven by several key factors:

• Many of IzPack’s dependencies have security vulnerabilities that will no longer be fixed for Java 8 (as highlighted in the Sonatype Report).
• Maintaining and improving the codebase becomes increasingly difficult with each new Java release.
• The latest Java version is now 23, with 24 expected soon
• As of Java 20, Java 8 bytecode has been deprecated for removal.

Moving forward, we will aim to backport fixes when feasible, but community contributions will be crucial in maintaining compatibility.

Best regards,
The IzPack Team