I'm pleased to announce that Spring Framework 3.0 M1 is finally available for download!

This release features several major changes, including a start of the major 3.0 themes such as EL and REST support:

• revised project layout and build system with module-based sources
• updated entire codebase for Java 5 code style (generics, varargs)
• updated to JUnit 4.5 and JRuby 1.1
• introduced Spring EL parser (org.springframework.expression package)
• introduced support for #{...} expressions in bean definitions
• introduced expression-enabled @Value annotation for embedded expressions
• introduced @PathVariable annotation for URI template handling in MVC handlers
• introduced default value support for @RequestParam in MVC handlers
• introduced @RequestHeader annotation for HTTP header access in MVC handlers
• introduced AbstractAtomFeedView and AbstractRssFeedView base classes
• introduced <spring:url> and <spring:param> JSP tags

as well as various minor enhancements.

Note that Spring Framework 3.0 requires Java 5 or above and J2EE 1.4 or above. We are building on Java 6 and Java EE 5 as the primary platform levels - but rest assured, we will retain compatibility with Java 5 enabled J2EE 1.4 servers such as WebLogic 9 and WebSphere 6.1.

We also removed/deprecated several classes that became outdated. More information about deprecations and the corresponding migration paths will be available in the 3.0 M2/M3 timeframe.

As a change from previous releases which were hosted in CVS at SourceForge, Spring Framework 3.0 is being developed in our new Subversion repository which can be found at: https://src.springframework.org/svn/spring-framework/

Feel free to track the ongoing work as we move closer to Spring Framework 3.0 final... and let us know whether you like what you're seeing :-)