End of support for Yii 1.1

[Niklas-Peter]

On the website you write "Dec 31, 2015 (may be extended further if needed)".
When will you make the decision, whether and how long it will be extended?

[samdark]

1. Do you personally need extended support?

[samdark]

2. If yes, for how long?

[samdark]

3. What prevents you from migrating to 2.0? (I know it takes time but still).

[nineinchnick]

1. Yes
2. At least until end of 2016
3. Yii 2.0 is available since Oct 12, 2014, that gives just about a year to migrate all existing projects. A year is just barely enough to migrate my own toolset to start new projects.

[kjusupov]

1. Yes
2. Mid / End 2016
3. In our case, we went live with Yii1 code-base Q1-2014, we don't have enough man-power to support Yii1 and migrate to Yii2 at the same time.

[selorm]

Also just deployed a Yii 1 code earlier this year and still contemplating whether to start making the switch now or wait till Yii2 matures with more extension and modules. But I'd wish for extension of life support to may be around 2016

[AlexGx]

1. Maybe only bugfixes & critical improvements.
2. Mid 2016
3. Big codebase and limited human resources.

[pmaselkowski]

1. I agree with AlexGx about bugfixes and critical issues (severity:critical), this could be mostly handled by community, am I right?
2. Possibly Yii 1 could be used even after 2020, why not?
3. Personally i have projects which use some parts of yii, and see no need of upgrading it, but if critical issues were found it would be nice to have some official update.

[samdark]

@pmaselkowski

1. It still has to be verified by core developers. Releases still have to be prepared by core developers. It all takes time.
2. We want more time for 2.x.

[kjusupov]

@samdark agree, time & resources should be concentrated on Yii2, but, bug-fixes & critical improvements mid/end 2016 would be really appreciated.

[noonnightcoder]

1. Yes
2. End of 2016
3. Resource and time constraint

[Niklas-Peter]

I agree with kjusupov.
For Yii 1 you should only fix security and very critical bugs. If you take a look at entries of this type in the change log of Yii 1, you will notice, that there were very few ones in the last 2 years.
Mid 2016 seems to be appropriate.

No matter, what your decision will be, I hope you will make it soon, so that we can plan the future.

[ashatrov]

+1

1. Yes
2. At least until end of 2016
3. Yii 2.0 is available since Oct 12, 2014, that gives just about a year to migrate all existing projects. A year is just barely enough to migrate my own toolset to start new projects.

[resurtm]

1. Yes.
2. At least until the end of 2016 (31st December).

[alexandernst]

1. Yes
2. I'd say make it a real LTS, security fixes only, until 2018 and bug fixes until 2016.
3. The company I was working in the last few years made me participate in quite a lot of projects in Yii. All those projects where started in 2013 or 2014 and simply can not be upgraded to 2.0 because that would require a huge human effort, lots of time and money (and quite a big dev team/s).

I do see that now Yii2 is your baby and you want to spent a lot of time with it, but Yii1 has been around for a long time and there are tons and tons of code based on it, so there is no easy way to "just migrate to 2.0".

As I see it, you have two options:

Option 1: Split your time between Yii2 and Yii1 (90% - 10% sounds good) and apply patches yourself until end of planned support.

Option 2: Start looking for volunteers that would maintain and bug-fix Yii1, and give them write access to Yii1 repository. At the end of the day, that is the good thing of having such a big community, right?

[yupe]

1. Yes!
2. The end of 2016

[lial]

Yes, at least the end of 2016

[rsmike]

Yes
end of 2016

[Bogdaan]

1. Yes

[mikspark]

1. Yes
2. End 2016

[githubjeka]

1. No.

[kitavrus]

Yes
end of 2016

[yaBliznyk]

1. Да
2. до конца 2016 оптимальнее всего.
3. Основные причины в имеющихся наработках (готовых скилетов, хелперов, модулей), очень сильно зависим от расширений типа Yii-booster, который имеет очень много виджетов из коробки. На сегодняшний день это самое удачное расширение для создания админок и веб-приложений.
   php5.3 на хостингах))) хоть тресни, их еще дофига. Когда много проектов крутиться на одном серваке с Yii1 и php5.3 - немного страшно обновлять до 5.4 и выше.
   Есть еще непонятки с Yii2 ActiveRecord, которая ведет себя иногда очень странно. На Yii1 все "подводные камни" уже найдены и успешно обходятся.
   Я знаю где используют (и сам имею) Yii1 на достаточно крупных проектах. Там столько кода, написанного таким количеством людей, что переписывать на Yii2 будет очень проблематично. Дайте немного больше времени, чтобы оклематься, обновиться и успешно запуститься с yii2)
   Интересно что на все это ответят 2GIS))

[eGGshke]

А причем здесь 2гис ?

[yybalam]

+1

1. Yes
2. End of 2016
3. Big codebase, many projects, limited resources.

[yaBliznyk]

А причем здесь 2гис ?

• На сколько мне известно - они очень активно используют Yii. И сильно вероятно, что именно 1ой версии.

[samdark]

Да, у них API на 1.1.

[i-sevostyanov]

1. Yes
2. End of 2016

[dignityinside]

+++

1. Yes.
2. End 2016-2017

[tebazil]

1. Yes.
2. End of 2016 - probably only bugfixes and compatibility with newer php versions will do.
3. Have a couple of Yii1 projects. Yii1 is well tested and (to me) less bloated with dependencies, so, while I don't think we should start new projects on Yii1, it's quite and option to support the old ones - they are still running and well tested with time, and need just small fixes/enhancements from time to time.

[fazliddin]

Personally I do not see any reason to switch Yii2

[ljgww]

You have a conceptual problem here.

Yii can be used for two kinds of applications: public and internal. Public internet applications are vulnerable to security issues and have shorter versioning lifetime.

Internal (intranet) applications (where Yii actually has great potential to be a viable intranet application solution) may run for years as long as OS supports particular setup (web server/PHP version/database). Internal network setups do not develop as fast public setups, also are more protected in various ways therefore suffer from less security issues.

You shall perhaps start considering to have slower moving Yii branch specifically geared towards intranets with longer lifetime with better compatibility profile (covering wider span of PHP versions). We can (users) in such case decouple internal from external solutions. I did not dwell deep into v2 but did not fail to notice that v2 starts offering 'advanced mode' that suggests 'front end' and 'back end' frameworks. This can be done differently because it will not be uncommon to run front end from one server and back end from another (using different PHP and overall setup). I would guess that front end on the long run will have more versions than the backend.

[ljgww]

Revisit. Dwelled to v2 advanced installatio & got the concept:

front end, back end and common. The problem here is that I had something completely different in mind when I wrote previous thoughts. V2 structure is all Front End in my understanding (consisting of site shown as public - v2 frontend, additional site that would be used for administration - v2 backend, and a glue in between - v2 common).

Perhaps many cmses are built around this concept (found in Django, Typo 3, Drupal many other cms or frameworks).

My thoughts above propose different deployment scenario:

Front End - Yii application hosted on a public site (would have some administration features)
Back End - Yii application hosted in internal network (used for internal operations - also would have administration features)
Data exchange - two Yii advanced systems exchanging data.

My belief is that Yii is perfect Back End system in above described deployment scenario.

[samdark]

@ljgww how you use Yii is up to you. Advanced application template is just a template, it could be adjusted to fit your needs. Both of your use cases are OK.

[ljgww]

@samdark the issue here is not how I use it, but what domain particular software attempts to solve in its conceptual abilities. Yii is very close to be next to perfect system for rapid internal web app development and in that it stands out among the rest, beating even more capable ones, yet, as it is now, Yii attempts to compete in arena of 'public' front end frameworks where there are many other players and Yii does not have nothing particularly special to offer.

In php arena there are several very fine frameworks (and CMSes with frameworks - I can perhaps count at least 10 of them) with different concepts that often prove to be better choice than Yii when some design constraint is used (example: needing small framework, looking for hierarchical framework, with/without ORM, needing particular template system, easy to move among hosting etc).

Instead of recognizing Yii potential to solve a problem that no other framework has resolved (nor show even attempt to resolve) Yii will continue to compete somewhat futile battle. Additionally, If one do not care about their deployment language (in internal systems you can use several other languages than just PHP, consequently one has much wider choice of capable frameworks) the competition arena widens and Yii offer sinks in the sea of similar features.

Taking above facts in consideration and combining with the relative short lifetime cycle (caused by front end competition), Yii almost screams to system architect: DO NOT USE ME as I will change in very short time into something you are not looking for, and this is I believe the topic of this discussion.

[samdark]

I see. You could be right but we want Yii to be used in public projects since that's where the whole core team (and more than half of the community members) uses it in their projects. Still, I've got your thought. You vote to extend 1.1 support, correct?

[Jeff86]

1- Yes, mostly security fixes, we can handle bugs as it's working now

2- the best you can my friend but once over I think the community will continue or pple will do their own fix on their side, Yii2 should have been compatible with Yii1 code as many coder asked for it...

3- Rewrite tons of lines and hacks. Honestly I pick up Yii to prevent writing two times the same thing (we all think that way when we get clients) and Yii2 makes me checking everything again and I don't like it. It's like angularjs, many of us using it will stick with v1 and won't change it until a tool convert our app for us and for me it will be that way for Yii, I'll stay with v1 and make my security fix if needed but won't go to Yii2 spending months to get some not needed enhancement and do it again in 5 years for v3? I would rather wait 5 years with v1 and wait your v3 or change of Framework.

Just a quick example: how many of you are using jQuery 2? Like many of us I used jQuery 1 and now I'm on angularjs, I never switched to jQuery 2. If angularjs do the same mistake I'll switch to another one and stay with it if it's really better but not "a little more better" like what you offer now and what offers angular v2 and jQuery v2. If we switch to think a different way (like you asks us now) it must be for something AMAZING and not just cool, it must be freaking amazing with something new like from jQuery to angularjs. I really hope you are not the next jQuery guys...

[samdark]

Noted.

[marcovtwout]

I guess there are many projects, both private and commercial, running Yii 1 that have no direct need to upgrade to Yii 2. I would expect the Yii 1 branch to be maintained for years to come, but only for security issues and compatibility issues.

Whatever the core team decides, remember it will also reflect on Yii 2. Eventually there will be a Yii 3, and the same questions will be asked. Anyone considering which PHP framework to choose will also look at how you support previous releases.

[weaverk]

Support at least until mid 2016 would be greatly appreciated since even though yii2 has been 'released' since the end of 2014 - It takes time to wait for documentation to be more readily available (not just the official, but also within the community, posts on stack overflow for the most common issues etc), before we start to play with yii2...
then we need some time to familiarize with the new version, and then finally to begin the migration of old yii projects (naturally this is in between other daily work, its hard to explain to a non-technical manager that we are rebuilding a project from scratch because the framework is no longer supported)...

[IngwiePhoenix]

I would like to add something here.

There is a major difference in yii1 and yii2 that affect the use and preference for users. For instance, I am not a big fan of the gigantic namespace paths that may occur and find the naming convention for yii1 really easy and quick to use. Migrating a yii1 project to yii2 isn’t just about changing classnames though - from what I can see, its far more complex than that.

If the time is close for the end of yii1, i strongly suggest creating a „How to migrate“ guide because people will find problems migrating right away. For isntance, I would, since yii2 looks much different from the outside - though I have heared it isn’t that much.

Just my two cents on this. :)

Kind regards, Ingwie.

[Jeff86]

I agree with this. A simple tool could help us a lot. If we could have one tool that:

• scan all php files and detect a code that must be updated (i.e beforesave, relations, widgets...)
• propose a link to an explanation of the update to do or propose a sample code to inspire of

For now I just read a little of Yii2 upgrade and more I read more I think it will be heavy as I'm using many components and tweaks. That kind of tool would make me (and others) win a lot of time :)

[samdark]

@IngwiePhoenix http://www.yiiframework.com/doc-2.0/guide-intro-upgrade-from-v1.html

@Jeff86 it's hardly possible to automate 1.1 → 2.0 upgrade.

[IngwiePhoenix]

@samdark @Jeff86 Using a PHP parser that runs over the files in a protected/ folder to lurk for the use of older classes and/or definitions would already be a thing. But this is just...a thought. I do agree with Jeff's points here, but ill also look at the link you gave - looks interestimg from the title of it. :)

[bhaveshvaghela32]

I don't see any reason to switch Yii2 , I went through many bugs and issue with extension (I am sorry i could not help to solve those bugs and errors) , why should I have to struggle to download just single extension . I am trying to download this extension http://www.yiiframework.com/extension/yii2-chosen/ ,( unfortunately i could not have downloaded ), I love Yii 1

[samdark]

@bhaveshvaghela32

1. That's third party extension we're not responsible for.
2. There's no need to manually download anything, php composer.phar require "nex/yii2-chosen" "*" and that's it.

[yoshida-mediba]

🆙

[johnss]

i think for 2016 and beyond, yii should end issue support and only respond to pull request, i still want to use yii 1.1 even it's no longer supported

[kasoft]

I'm working with Yii since 1.1.5 - it's a fantastic framework and i have some really really big projects i developed ove the last years. My customers will never pay a switch to yii2 - but i'll still would love to do it. But how? I started a new project with yii2 and from the first steps i realized a lot of yii 1 problems are solved or done better - great work! As i still need more time to get used to yii2 in daily business there will be no time to switch big projects. For one of them i think it would take 3-6 Month Fulltime work. Thats the reason that prevents me from switching as yii 1 is still doing great. So please do bugfixing and security till the end of 2017. i'll promise i'll try to switch ...

[IngwiePhoenix]

@Kabinenkoffer I agree a lot with this. I myself work with yii1 since 1.1.7 and i <3 it! But there is no easy way of switching, at all...since yii2 is built entirely different.

Till end of 2017 sounds about right to me.

[flashmailer]

1. Do you personally need extended support?
   Yes!
2. If yes, for how long?
   Security fixes until the end of 2018
3. What prevents you from migrating to 2.0? (I know it takes time but still).
   Running products, limited human resources for migration

[tschiff]

1. Yes
2. at least end 2016 if possible mid 2017
3. resources and a really huge codebase/projects + my customers would never pay a switch

[IngwiePhoenix]

I just noticed the questions at the top. Here's my answers.

1. Do you personally need extended support?: Absolutely. I <3 Yii1.
2. If yes, for how long? 2017 at least, 2019 at most. I'll have to convert, after all...
3. What prevents you from migrating to 2.0? (I know it takes time but still).: Yii2's namespaced structure requires tens and thousands of use statements. The simplicity we had in Yii1 is gone IMHO and I have to namespace my own code first as well. I also have to change my custom user login strategy, update 20+ models, as well as possibly re-write some components, check if they are still needed and stuff alike. I also have to re-read some of the Yii source code to know when what is used - in relation to sessions, setting headers and what have you.

[Niklas-Peter]

It is time to make a decision. The original end of maintenance date is in 2,5 months!

[tomvdp]

1. I would really appreciate fixes if any serious vulnerabilities would come up. Other than that I am very happy with Yii1.1 in its current state. (after some minor modifications of my own)
2. important fixes: for many years to come please.
3. I invested multiple man-years in a large Yii1.1 project. It would be a huge effort to port it to Yii2. But why do it ? Because potential fixes to yet unknown issues would not be made available ? I hope the Yii community will then come up with a solution if the core team does not.

[osysltd]

First of all, thank you for this product! I personally agree with most of previous speakers, trying to move end of support to maximum possible. As personally being developer, I wouldn't be happy to spend my personal time to perform upgrade - there is no click-to-upgrade process though. I would also suggest review community support - an approach which has all major chances to live and will allow at least critical level patches to be in place as long as possible. Thank you.

[cebe]

Thanks to all for your input! We have decided on the issue and published a news: http://www.yiiframework.com/news/90/update-on-yii-1-1-support-and-end-of-life/

You may discuss the topic further in the following forum thread:
http://www.yiiframework.com/forum/index.php/topic/68641-update-on-yii-11-support-and-end-of-life/