CDK Version Update

[parkand1]

The CDK is now at v1.102.0 but the blueprint currently references 1.91. At what point do we want to add something like dependabot to automatically update the different versions for the CDK and addons? Most (if not all) my issues are stemming from versioning issues.

[shapirov103]

Versioning issues are not going to be solved by CDK version update, since the moment when you update to 1.102, the CDK will move to 1.103 and it is a never ending race. So it is not going to be done to fix issues, we still need clear guidance of version of CDK customers must use.

To answer your question about when: typically it is done on a cadence every sprint (or two sprints). So we need something like a recurring issue every 2-4 weeks. It can be accelerated if there is a specific feature in the latest CDK that we need. Is there anything specific that you would like to use in 102?

[parkand1]

There wasn't a specific feature in 102 that stood out but was more focused on your first point as to providing guidance for customers on what version to use. If anything we'll probably just need to add a note to the README as to which version of the CDK customers should use since if you run npm install -g aws-cdk it automatically installs the latest version.

[shapirov103]

It is a great point. The README should state explicitly which CDK version must be installed. So npm install -g aws-cdk is actually a defect in the document that should be fixed.

We should always state in the README the version that we tested against to prevent negative customer experience, e.g. npm install -g aws-cdk@X.YY.Z and this version should be updated each time we move CDK to a later version. Good catch!