[ANNOUNCEMENT] HttpComponents Client 5.0 beta3 released

[Oleg Kalnichevski <ol...@apache.org>]

The Apache HttpComponents project is pleased to announce 5.0-beta3
release of HttpComponents Client. 

This BETA release adds support for advanced TLS functions (such as ALPN
protocol negotiation) on Java 1.7 and Java 1.8 through Conscrypt TLS
library and picks up the latest fixes and performance improvements from
HttpCore.


Notable new features in this release:
-------------------------------------

* TLS ALPN protocol negotiation support on older JREs through Conscrypt
TLS library.


Notable changes and features in the 5.0 series:
-----------------------------------------------

* Support for the HTTP/2 protocol and conformance to requirements and
recommendations of the latest HTTP/2 protocol specification documents
(RFC 7540, RFC 7541.)

  Supported features:

    ** HPACK header compression
    ** Stream multiplexing (client and server)
    ** Flow control
    ** Response push
    ** Message trailers
    ** Expect-continue handshake
    ** Connection validation (ping)
    ** Application-layer protocol negotiation (ALPN) on Java 9.0.1+
    ** TLS 1.2 security features

* Improved conformance to requirements and recommendations of the
latest HTTP/1.1 protocol specification documents (RFC 7230, RFC 7231.)

* New connection pool implementation with lax connection limit
guarantees and better performance under higher concurrency due to
absence of a global pool lock.

* Package name space changed to 'org.apache.hc.client5'.

* Maven group id changed to 'org.apache.httpcomponents.client5'.

HttpClient 5.0 releases can be co-located with earlier major versions
on the same classpath due to the change in package names and Maven
module coordinates.

The 5.0 APIs are considered feature complete and are not expected to
undergo any major changes anymore. The focus of development is now
shifting to API polish, code stabilization and documentation
improvements.

Download - <http://hc.apache.org/downloads.cgi>
Release notes - <
https://www.apache.org/dist/httpcomponents/httpclient/RELEASE_NOTES-5.0.x.txt
>
HttpComponents site - <http://hc.apache.org/>

About HttpComponents HttpClient

The Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is perhaps the most significant
protocol used on the Internet today. Web services, network-enabled
appliances and the growth of network computing continue to expand the
role of the HTTP protocol beyond user-driven web browsers, while
increasing the number of applications that require HTTP support.

Although the java.net package provides basic functionality for
accessing resources via HTTP, it doesn't provide the full flexibility
or functionality needed by many applications. HttpClient seeks to fill
this void by providing an efficient, up-to-date, and feature-rich
package implementing the client side of the most recent HTTP standards
and recommendations.

Designed for extension while providing robust support for the base HTTP
protocol, HttpClient may be of interest to anyone building HTTP-aware
client applications such as web browsers, web service clients, or
systems that leverage or extend the HTTP protocol for distributed
communication.