Appendix A. Release Levels & Interface Stability
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# Appendix A. Release Levels & Interface Stability

This appendix includes definitions for product release levels and interface stability.

## A.1. Open Identity Platform Product Release Levels

Open Identity Platform defines Major, Minor, and Maintenance product release levels. The release level is reflected in the version number. The release level tells you what sort of compatibility changes to expect.

Major (version: x[.0.0], trailing 0s are optional)

  Major releases bring big new features. Major releases can include changes even to Stable interfaces. Major releases can remove previously Deprecated functionality, and in rare cases remove Evolving functionality that has not been explicitly Deprecated. Major releases also include the changes present in previous Minor and Maintenance releases.

Minor (version: x.y[.0], trailing 0s are optional)

  Minor releases might include new features, backwards-compatible changes to Stable interfaces in the same Major release, and incompatible changes to Evolving interfaces. Minor releases can remove previously Deprecated functionality. Minor releases also include the changes present in Maintenance releases.

Maintenance (version: x.y.z)

  Maintenance releases can include bug fixes. Maintenance releases are intended to be fully compatible with previous versions from the same Minor release.

## A.2. Open Identity Platform Product Interface Stability

Open Identity Platform products support many protocols, APIs, GUIs, and command-line interfaces. Some of these interfaces are standard and very stable. Others offer new functionality that is continuing to evolve.

We realize that you invest in these interfaces, and therefore must know when and how Open Identity Platform Community expects them to change. For that reason, Open Identity Platform Community defines interface stability labels and uses these definitions in Open Identity Platform products.

Stable

  This documented interface is expected to undergo only backwards-compatible changes between major releases. Changes are announced at least one minor release before they take effect.

Evolving

  This documented interface is continuing to evolve and so is expected to change, potentially in backwards-incompatible ways even in a minor release. Changes are documented at the time of product release.

  While new protocols and APIs are still in the process of standardization, they are Evolving. This applies for example to recent Internet-Draft implementations, and also to newly developed functionality.

Deprecated

  This interface is deprecated and likely to be removed in a future release. For previously stable interfaces, the change was likely announced in a previous release. Deprecated interfaces will be removed from Open Identity Platform products.

Removed

  This interface was deprecated in a previous release and has now been removed from the product.

Internal/Undocumented

  Internal and undocumented interfaces can change without notice. If you depend on one of these interfaces, contact Open Identity Platform support to discuss your needs.

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