The next major evolution of Java is here and Liferay is poised and ready to embrace the next generation. Like with any software or technology change, adoption will require work and will take time. That's why Liferay intends to share as much information as possible to ensure that customers are prepared to take the next step forward. This article covers Liferay's Java roadmap, important details, and what technologies will be affected.
What is Changing
The industry is moving towards the new standard Enterprise Java API, Jakarta. Most application servers have already begun, or soon will begin, using Jakarta as their API. In order to take advantage of the many security and performance benefits that come with Jakarta, and to ensure compatibility with the latest versions of our supported application servers, Liferay will be adopting Jakarta EE 10 in 2025. This also means that we will begin supporting new versions of all application servers and deprecating current versions.
As you will see below, Jakarta is planned for the Q3 2025 release. Due to the level of effort required, this is the earliest possible release Liferay can include Jakarta as it requires an upgrade of the entire codebase.
Liferay's Java Roadmap
Here is the release plan for Java and our supported application servers.
Q4/Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |
Java | Java EE 8 LTS Release | Java EE 8 Final Release | Jakarta EE 10 Release |
Tomcat | Deprecate Tomcat 9 | Tomcat 9 Final Release | Introduce Tomcat 10 |
Wildfly | Deprecate Wildfly 26 | Wildfly 26 Final Release | Introduce Wildfly 30 |
JBoss | Deprecate JBoss EAP 7.4 | JBoss EAP 7.4 Final Release | Introduce JBoss EAP 8 |
Weblogic | Deprecate Weblogic 14c | Weblogic 14 Final Release | Introduce Weblogic 15* |
*Weblogic 15 release depends on Oracle's release timeline
Support Schedule
As noted in our service life policy, LTS Quarterly Releases(Q1 releases) have 3 years from ship date, and other Quarterly Releases have 1 year from ship date. This means that, depending on the currently installed release version, customers have between 1 and 3 years(beginning in Q1 2025) to complete this migration in order to continue receiving support from Liferay. There is time, but we encourage customers to prioritize this change to take advantage of the many improvements and avoid using unsupported versions.
The table below shows the end of premium support for the latest versions to help guide customer's Jakarta migration plans.
Release | End of Premium Support | Upgrade Options at End of Support |
2024.Q1 | Q1 2027 | ≥2025.Q3(Jakarta) |
2024.Q2 | Q2 2025 | 2024.Q3, 2024.Q4, 2025.Q1, 2025.Q2 |
2024.Q3 | Q3 2025 | 2024.Q4, 2025.Q1, 2025.Q2, ≥2025.Q3(Jakarta) |
2024.Q4 | Q4 2025 | 2025.Q1, 2025.Q2, ≥2025.Q3(Jakarta) |
2025.Q1 | Q1 2028 | ≥2025.Q3(Jakarta) |
2025.Q2 | Q2 2026 | ≥2025.Q3(Jakarta) |
How to Prepare
We encourage customers to embrace Jakarta and begin planning and implementing steps to migrate as soon as possible. The main way to prepare for Jakarta is to begin making plans to update any custom code deployed inside the DXP installation. Upgrading to a Jakarta version of Liferay(2025.Q3 and higher) will require custom code to be migrated to Jakarta EE 10. Now is the time to make these plans and preparations. Liferay will be performing this migration on our code as well and we plan to share any valuable information with customers.
Beyond
Liferay has plans for even more updates and improvements beyond 2025. You can expect to see a runtime update from Java 17 to Java 21 and more. All part of Liferay's commitment to providing modern, flexible, and innovative products and services for our customers.
Additional Information
Note that SaaS customers do not need to migrate. Liferay will deploy and manage the change for you. In addition, Objects and Client Extension customizations should not be affected as they are not deployed directly into the Liferay JVM.
If you have any additional questions about Liferay's Java strategy, please submit a ticket and Liferay Support will be happy to assist.