Release 23.4.2 | End of .NET 6, 7 Support | November'24 release | +semver: patch (#2221)

Author: raman-m

ReleaseNotes.md

@@ -1,12 +1,17 @@
-## :package: Routing patch (version {0})
+## :package: End of .NET 6, 7 Support (version {0})
 > Read the Docs: [Ocelot 23.4](https://ocelot.readthedocs.io/en/{0}/) with [PDF](https://ocelot.readthedocs.io/_/downloads/en/{0}/pdf/)
 > Hot fixed version: [{1}](https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/{1})
 > Milestone: [November'24](https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/milestone/10)
 
-:heart: A heartfelt "Thank You" to **[Guillaume Gnaegi](https://github.com/ggnaegi)** (@ggnaegi)
+This is the last patched version for .NET 6 and 7 frameworks. The upcoming major release, version [24.0](https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/milestone/11), will target .NET 9 alongside the LTS .NET 8. Projects targeting .NET 6 or 7 should update to this version while considering an upgrade to .NET 8 or 9 in the future.
 
-### :information_source: About
-Addressed issues:
-- #2165 
-- #2209 
-- #2212
+### :information_source: About 
+- All package versions have been updated to latest versions targeting the `net6.0` and `net7.0` frameworks, along with the LTS `net8.0`.
+- Dependabot alerts concerning [reported vulnerabilities](https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/security/dependabot) related to `IdentityServer4` have not yet been addressed; these will be resolved in the next major release (refer to **Warnings** further information).
+
+### :exclamation: Warning  
+1. Releasing a patched `23.4.*` is possible.  
+2. In the next major version, the Ocelot team will remove references to the [IdentityServer4](https://github.comIdentityServer/IdentityServer4) package from testing projects due to its "Public Archive" status; the version, [4.1.2](https://github.comIdentityServer/IdentityServer4/releases/tag/4.1.2), was [released](https://github.com/IdentityServer/IdentityServer4/releases) on July 7, 2021.  
+3. The main Ocelot package is not integrated with `IdentityServer4`, allowing Ocelot users to utilize [any authentication provider](https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/discussions/2194), as Ocelot's [Authentication](https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/blob/main/docs/authentication.rst) feature is provider-agnostic.  
+4. Our plans to utilize the [ASP.NET Core Identity](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/security/authentication/identity) framework in testing projects due to industry standards, instead the `IdentityServer4` library.  
+5. Following the release of .NET 9, the team will begin the deprecation of the Ocelot extension-packages: `Ocelot.Cache.CacheManager`, `Ocelot.Tracing.Butterfly`, and `Ocelot.Tracing.OpenTracing`.

docs/index.rst

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.. _23.4: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/23.4.1
+.. _23.4: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/23.4.2
 
 ############################
 Ocelot `23.4`_ Documentation

docs/releasenotes.rst

@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@
 .. _@jlukawska: https://github.com/jlukawska
 .. _@kesskalli: https://github.com/kesskalli
 
-.. _23.4: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/23.4.1
+.. _23.4: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/23.4.2
 .. _23.4.0: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/23.4.0
 .. _23.4.1: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/23.4.1
+.. _23.4.2: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/releases/tag/23.4.2
 
 .. _1111: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/issues/1111
 .. _1307: https://github.com/ThreeMammals/Ocelot/pull/1307
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ The major version `23.4.0`_ includes several patches, the history of which is pr
 .. admonition:: Patches
 
   - `23.4.1`_, on Nov 22, 2024: Routing patch.
+  - `23.4.2`_, on Nov 27, 2024: End of .NET 6/7 Support patch.
 
 .. _release-notes: