Skip to content

Java 17, GDAL 3.8.4, Spark 3.5.5 & Ubuntu 24.04

Version: 1.9.0

Date: May 14, 2025

Customer-facing changes

This release includes the following customer-facing improvements:

  • Operating System Upgrade: The Wherobots platform's underlying operating system has been upgraded from Ubuntu 22.04 to 24.04 LTS.
  • Geospatial Library Enhancement: We've upgraded the core Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL) from version 3.4.1 to 3.8.4. This update offers improved performance, broader format support, and the latest features for geospatial operations.
  • Java Environment Update: Our runtime environment has been standardized on Java 17 (LTS), moving from Java 19. This transition to a Long-Term Support release enhances overall platform stability and long-term compatibility.
  • Spark Compatibility Update: We have updated our compatible Apache Spark version from 3.5.4 to 3.5.5, ensuring alignment with the latest maintenance and security releases for distributed data processing.

Expected breaking changes

  • Java Version Downgrade to 17 (LTS): The transition from Java 19 to Java 17 may be a breaking change. Any custom code, User-Defined Functions (UDFs), or JAR files compiled specifically for Java 19 will need to be recompiled using a Java 17 SDK to ensure compatibility.
  • GDAL Library Upgrade to 3.8.4: The major version upgrade of the GDAL library may be a breaking change. This could alter the behavior of certain geospatial functions or affect custom applications that have deep integrations with GDAL APIs. We recommend you test your geospatial workloads and consult the official GDAL release notes for any relevant changes.

To prepare for this update, you'll need to address the two main breaking changes. Here’s a guide on how to mitigate the potential issues.

Mitigating breaking changes

Mitigating the GDAL 3.8.4 upgrade

The upgrade of the core geospatial library (GDAL) from 3.4.1 to 3.8.4 may introduce subtle changes to the behavior of geospatial functions. Mitigation for this involves testing and validation rather than a direct code change.

We strongly recommend you review the official changelogs for any APIs or functions your application depends on. You can find the release notes on the official GDAL releases page. Review any "backward-incompatible changes" mentioned in the notes for versions 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8.

Proactively test your applications that rely heavily on GDAL. Create a validation plan that compares the output of your key geospatial operations (like projections or geometric calculations) before and after the upgrade to catch any unexpected differences. If you find discrepancies, adjust your code according to the changes documented in the release notes.