OpenJPA Release Policy¶

Release Numbering¶

The release number consists of three digits separated by decimal points, followed by an optional status e.g. 2.1.6-beta2. The first digit is the major release number; the second is the minor release number; the third is the patch number. The optional status is an indicator of the release status, e.g. -alpha2, -rc1, etc. Generally, the status indicator is only used for major releases, e.g. 1.0.0-rc1 but is available for any release at the release manager's discretion.

SNAPSHOT Releases¶

During development of a release, nightly builds are typically done and published under the SNAPSHOT rubric. The SNAPSHOT will contain the latest result of building the release, regardless of the release status. For example, while developing release 2.1.6, the version 2.1.6-SNAPSHOT will be the latest result even though the status changes from -alpha, -alpha2, -beta, -beta2, -rc1, -rc2. The last nightly before release would still be 2.1.6-SNAPSHOT.

Backward Compatibility¶

Backward compatibility means that user programs compiled against one release will still compile and execute with another release. Generally, the objective is to maintain backward compatibility for minor releases and patch releases but not major releases. For example, 2.1.5 will execute when run with e.g. 2.1.6 but there is no guarantee that the reverse is true, i.e. that user programs compiled against 2.1.6 will compile or run against 2.1.5.

Major Release¶

Major releases have the minor and patch numbers set to 0. Major releases contain functionality changes compared to earlier major releases and may break backward compatibility if necessary. Once a major release is issued, a branch is created for maintenance, replacing the patch number with "x".

Minor Release¶

Minor releases have the patch number set to 0. Minor releases contain functionality changes compared to earlier minor releases within the same major release, but do not break backward compatibility.

Patch Release¶

Patch releases contain bug fixes compared to the previous patch, minor, or major release on which they are built. Patch releases increment the patch number compared to the most recent patch release. Backward compatibility is maintained.