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Which version of symfony for your next project? by Fabien Potencier – August 26, 2008 – 12 comments

With three major symfony versions, newcomers have sometimes a hard time figuring out which version to use for their next project.

To help them choose the right version, I have just updated the symfony project website with a brand new installation page. I also hope IT managers will love the great matrix I have made for them:

symfony choice matrix

The upgrade instructions have also been put online with links available from the main installation page and from each symfony version installation page:

Instructions to upgrade to symfony 1.1
Instructions to upgrade to symfony 1.2

If you are curious and want to know what has already changed in the upcoming symfony 1.2 version, you can read the upgrade page for symfony 1.2. This page is updated in real time whenever a new feature is added to this version.

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Comments

#1 Thomas R. said on the 2008/08/26 at 10:32

You should also add which ORM is the most suitable : doctrine, Propel 1.x
#2 Mike Nolan said on the 2008/08/26 at 10:37

Will 1.0 -> 1.2 upgrade tasks be present? I was planning to upgrade straight to 1.2 when we have the time (which will be around the time it's released)
#3 halfer said on the 2008/08/26 at 11:09

+1 for Mike's comment. We're still on 1.0 and expect to upgrade straight to 1.2 in 2009, without going through 1.1.
#4 fabien said on the 2008/08/26 at 12:28

@Mike, @halfer: you will need to upgrade to 1.1 first, and then to 1.2.
#5 Andreas said on the 2008/08/26 at 12:51

I think you should include a short explanation of the planned release cycles and the notion of "transition releases".

If the reader doesn't know about those, it is pretty confusing why support for a newer version is planned to end sooner than for an old release.
#6 Yoyo said on the 2008/08/26 at 16:21

Andreas, that is right.. I don't understand why 1.1 is maintained only 1 year.. I am wondering if it is wise to start a new project with this last one.
#7 halfer said on the 2008/08/26 at 16:48

@Thomas: this is more a matter of opinion rather than product life-spans. Also, Doctrine, Propel 1.2 and Propel 1.3 can be used with all of these symfony releases.

@fabien: thanks.

@Yoyo: bear in mind that the upgrade from 1.1->1.2 will be easier than 1.0->1.1, as most of the big refactoring is already taken care of. If you are starting a new project, as the page says, you should consider 1.1 first.
#8 Raphael said on the 2008/08/26 at 18:30

It's great to see that also the website is continuously being extended in order to cope with the facets of the evolving framework (versions, plugins, documentation, upgrade scenarios etc etc). Properly managing such a project makes another key argument pro Symfony in terms of sustainability, as it increases the lifetime of any Symfony-based application / website.
Thanks!
#9 Martin Sanchez said on the 2008/08/26 at 21:09

A very important thing to consider when choosing a version is the kind of plugins available for it.

I have not upgraded my projects from 1.0 to 1.1 because the plugins I use haven't been upgraded to 1.1.

So, a link to the plugins section, separated by version, would be useful.
#10 Fabian said on the 2008/08/26 at 21:55

I really love your slight sarcasm for IT Managers. But the funny thing is, such stuff really matters! Do not underestimate IT Managers. Consider this yourself. You are going to spend more than a years income on some free software and you need some guarantees to cover your risks.
Thanks to Fabien for making this even clearer now.
#11 fabien said on the 2008/08/26 at 22:30

@Fabian: I do not underestimate IT Managers, trust me ;)
#12 Junni said on the 2008/08/29 at 17:47

I'm still using 1.0.x voor my projects, except for one I' m working on now. It's a relative small project with multilanguage, project portfolio, listing of services, ... Untill now no stuff I'm struggling with in Symfony 1.1.