The Velocity developers are pleased to make the first beta release of VelocityTools 2.0 available for download and testing.
This release marks the completion of major development in VelocityTools 2.0, which is now the main development trunk. Significant new features in 2.0 include very flexible, composable toolbox configuration (via either java, xml, and/or properties), lazy-loading/initialization of tools, the VelocityViewTag for embedding Velocity within JSP, an assortment of new and improved tools, and much more.
This should be useable as a drop in replacement for Tools 1.4, with a few minor exceptions where things already deprecated earlier in 1.x have been removed. This also is the first Tools release to require both Velocity 1.5+ and JDK 1.5+.
At this point, the new tool management and configuration facilities are extremely stable and useable. Documentation has been radically improved since the alpha release, though more work remains there before 2.0 final is released. There are no open or known bugs in this release and encourage further testing (especially of the library's backwards compatibility) as we progress rapidly toward the 2.0 release. We are also more than happy to answer questions on the mailing lists. More information on the changes between Tools 1.x and 2.x may be found here.
The Velocity developers are very interested in all feedback regarding Tools 2.0, especially regarding backwards compatibility with apps designed for Tools 1.4 or earlier. We aim to enable a smooth, incremental transition for developers and their applications.
Downloads of Tools 2.0-beta1 are available here.