Deprecation Policy

Deprecation Policy

This document outlines the deprecation policy for the Hatchgrid project. All contributors are expected to follow these guidelines to ensure that we can evolve our API without breaking our clients.

Table of Contents

• Deprecation Policy
  • Table of Contents
  • Introduction
  • Deprecation Process
  • Deprecation Schedule
  • Communication

Introduction

Deprecation is the process of discouraging the use of a particular feature or API in favor of a newer or better alternative. It is an important part of the software development lifecycle because it allows us to evolve our API without breaking our clients.

Deprecation Process

The deprecation process is as follows:

1. Announce the deprecation: We will announce the deprecation of a feature or API in the release notes.
2. Mark the feature or API as deprecated: We will mark the feature or API as deprecated in the code and in the documentation.
3. Provide a migration path: We will provide a migration path for our clients to move to the new feature or API.
4. Remove the feature or API: We will remove the feature or API in a future release.

Deprecation Schedule

We will follow a time-based deprecation schedule.

• Minor releases: We may deprecate features or APIs in minor releases, but we will not remove them.
• Major releases: We may remove deprecated features or APIs in major releases.

We will provide at least 6 months’ notice before removing a deprecated feature or API.

Communication

We will communicate the deprecation of a feature or API through the following channels:

• Release notes: We will announce the deprecation in the release notes.
• Documentation: We will mark the feature or API as deprecated in the documentation.
• Blog: We will publish a blog post to announce the deprecation and to provide a migration path.
• Email: We will send an email to our clients to announce the deprecation and to provide a migration path.