Play framework for Java? version 1.x.x or 2.x.x

Question

I just want to know if the application is going to be developed in Java, is it better to go for Play 1.x.x or 2.x.x?

and How long the version 1.x.x will be supported? Is it an active fork?

Thanks

Answer 1

Start with Play 2+ reason is simple, Play 1.x is NO longer officially developed by Zenexity. It's only in maintenance mode now.

A fork has appeared a couple of months ago : Yalp Framework.

Answer 2

Basically 1.x.x is still around because it is really different from 2.x.x

converting Play1 projects to Play2 is almost recoding everything so Play has to keep on supporting Play1 to keep the "customers" that are already doing production with 1.x.x

If you are starting a project now, be it Java or Scala, I advise to get Play 2.1.x since it has the latest and most awesome features. And it also works with the latest versions of scala (which I am aware is not relevent to your question).

TLDR : 1.x.x is outdated but still supported because a lot of people are still using in production since it is not easy to port a 1.x project to 2.x