Vespa 8 is here

Vespa 8, the latest major version of Vespa.ai, has been released for production use both as open source and on Vespa Cloud, but unlike traditional major releases, it introduces no new features. Instead, the release focuses on removing deprecated functionalities, updating default settings, and switching to newer dependencies like JDK and Linux, reflecting a shift in how software updates are managed in the era of continuous deployment and semantic versioning. Users are encouraged to ensure their applications are free from deprecated features and to follow straightforward steps to upgrade, which include setting the major version to '8' in the deployment configuration or switching to CentOS Stream 8 if running Vespa independently. This approach allows for a seamless transition and ensures that users continue to receive new features and improvements promptly while maintaining compatibility across minor releases.