CODEWITHSUNDEEP
sqlalchemyversionbackwards-compatibility
Veky
Veky

Reputation: 2755

SQLAlchemy 1.0 release

We have a reasonably big project in Django, that had started to push at the limitations of Django (we mostly use Django for database-related stuff, not web interface), and we decided to switch to SQLAlchemy, while it's still possible (we don't want to get ourselves in this position:).

The problem is, it really seems this is the worst time we could have picked. SQLA is on the verge of releasing version 1.0, which will probably be a big change in the interface. More importantly, it seems like there is some trouble with releasing it: more than a month ago, Mike Bayer tweeted that release candidate will be available via pip --pre, but it still hasn't happened.

Docs are updated to 1.0, and the bitbucket repo shows no diff between master and 1_0 branch. If this were Django, I'd just clone a repository and install it directly - there is an official blessing for such method in Django documentation. But I can't see any hint that this is "accepted behaviour" in SQLA community. For example, installation page doesn't mention 1.0 at all.

Am I too paranoic? Should we just use 0.9.8, and then make a few changes when 1.0 comes out? Or should we build 1.0 manually? Or it would be better to wait? (How much? I realize SQLA team doesn't want to heap up pressure to themselves by talking about an release date, but Mike has kinda already done that with that tweet.:)

I realize this is not exactly an objective question, but someone having a knowledge of SQLA process might have valuable advice. For example, if someone asked me same thing about Django 2.0, I'd tell them "if it isn't a mission critical app, just clone and build from the newest repo state - the chance of breaking is small, and you're getting much better interface". And I'd have official docs behind me.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 72

Answers (1)

Raptor
Raptor

Reputation: 54252

As of the day of rewriting this answer, to answer how to choose from SQLAlchemy 0.9.8 (stable version released on October 13, 2014) or 1.0 ("upcoming" version), personally I will pick the stable version.

As a software life cycle, beta / bleeding edge / nightly build versions tend to have more bugs or breaking changes, which will directly lead to breaking up your system / script.

Therefore, choosing a stable version is more appropriate in most cases, unless you want to have the new feature in the beta version.

Last, there are usually migration guides to upgrade your version, but not downgrade your version. In some cases (but probably not in SQLAlchemy case), upgrade is sometimes irreversible.

Upvotes: 1

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