I posted the same in apache httpclients forum. I got replies.
Reply from 'Oleg' (one of active members in apache httpclient community)
Both branches will continue to be supported, especially 5.1 and 5.2.
The reason for last releases being so far in the past is simply we have
not been getting that many bug reports and there have been no major bug
fixes that would warrant an immediate release.
5.1 and 5.2 releases though can be expected soon.
Can i expect fixes/code changes in 4.x for the next 4/5 years atleast if i use it instead of 5.x?
We are all volunteers here. No one is gets paid for providing
HttpClient support. We can all go away any time. That is the whole
support plan.
One thing I can guarantee however that there will be no feature
development for 4.5 any more. We will likely be doing fixes for severe
and security issues in 4.5 going forward.
Reply from Michael Osipov
At some point in time we need to decide when to cut off 4.x. I don't see
a reason to keep this branch alive for the next five years. Given that
very little work on this project it would make sense to reduce the
amount of supported branches.
Reply from Gary Gregory
The sooner the better for a 4.x cut off IMO. There is a lot of complex code
in total for versions 3, 4, 5, and very limited human resources.
In Short: We can safely migrate to 5.x. I guess this answers for many developers who are looking for an answer like me.
