Some years ago, I made quite a big application, based on WebGUI 5.5.8.

Because of the complexity, I didn't integrate it to version 7.x.x. and it still runs under the old version.

Because of the functionality of the newer versions, I'm thinking about a redesign. Is that a good idea or can I expect the same trouble due to API-changes as I saw before in the near future?

How long will the 7.8.x API last?

From the roadmap:
"WebGUI 8 will not be API compatible with WebGUI 7.x....

That's a too easy answer, which can be interpreted like "WebGUI is a Framework for Web Applications, but don't use  it or invest in it"

On the feature list, you can read:

Powerful API
WebGUI allows developers to quickly plug-in new functionality to get the most from a site. In addition, WebGUI's standardized plug-in points maintain the upgrade path even with customizations.

Reading this as part of a CI for WebGUI, there should be a more differenciated answer to overcome for API changes  expected problems for application developers.

Hi Klaus,

and I should have highlighted the main question:

.. can I expect the same trouble due to API-changes as I saw before in the near future?

7.x will be maintained for a while after 8.x goes stable. So if you write for 7.x now, it will be okay until late 2011.

That wouldn't be sufficient to rely upon.

Without a commitment to a seemless upgrading possibility,
it's hard to argument for using WebGUI in complex applications.

If you want options:

1) You can write a WebGUI 7 app and keep using WebGUI 7 as long as you want.

2) You can write a WebGUI 7 app and use our instructions to migrate it to WebGUI 8 once 8 is released. The main difference is going to be the definition. There may be minor smoothing-over of rough bits we've dealt with for a long time, but it's not very drastic of an API incompatibility.

3) You can target WebGUI 8. The asset API is pretty much locked-in, we're currently working on migrating the existing asset set to the WebGUI 8 assets. See http://github.com/plainblack/webgui/tree/static_definition for more information.

4) You can use my WebGUIx::Asset, which is a Moose/DBIx::Class asset that will maintain compatibility in some way with both WebGUI 7 and WebGUI 8. See http://github.com/preaction/modern-webgui for more information. This also is a work-in-progress, though assets work for the most part (they show up in New Content menu, they show up in Asset Manager, you can add, you can edit, etc...), there are bugs that remain unfixed.

5) You can use a URL handler to interface with a Catalyst app, a Plack app, or anything else. Paul Driver has written a URL handler that will interface with a PSGI application and open a WebGUI session for you (I'll update with the github URL once he puts it up).