[v2] doc: update stable section
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Commit Message
Updating the docs to elaborate on the stable release
characteristics and better document the current practice
about new features in stable releases.
Signed-off-by: Kevin Traynor <ktraynor@redhat.com>
---
v2: Send to right dev list this time. Fix typo.
---
doc/guides/contributing/stable.rst | 33 ++++++++++++++++++++++++------
1 file changed, 27 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
Comments
On 19/02/2021 11:17, Kevin Traynor wrote:
> Updating the docs to elaborate on the stable release
> characteristics and better document the current practice
> about new features in stable releases.
>
> Signed-off-by: Kevin Traynor <ktraynor@redhat.com>
>
> ---
Acked-by: Luca Boccassi <bluca@debian.org>
On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 1:38 PM Kevin Traynor <ktraynor@redhat.com> wrote:
>
> On 19/02/2021 11:17, Kevin Traynor wrote:
> > Updating the docs to elaborate on the stable release
> > characteristics and better document the current practice
> > about new features in stable releases.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Kevin Traynor <ktraynor@redhat.com>
> >
> > ---
>
> Acked-by: Luca Boccassi <bluca@debian.org>
>
Acked-by: Christian Ehrhardt <christian.ehrhardt@canonical.com>
10/03/2021 11:32, Christian Ehrhardt:
> On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 1:38 PM Kevin Traynor <ktraynor@redhat.com> wrote:
> > On 19/02/2021 11:17, Kevin Traynor wrote:
> > > Updating the docs to elaborate on the stable release
> > > characteristics and better document the current practice
> > > about new features in stable releases.
> > >
> > > Signed-off-by: Kevin Traynor <ktraynor@redhat.com>
> >
> > Acked-by: Luca Boccassi <bluca@debian.org>
>
> Acked-by: Christian Ehrhardt <christian.ehrhardt@canonical.com>
Applied with title "doc: update backport guidelines", thanks.
@@ -19,4 +19,8 @@ consumers of DPDK with a stable target on which to base applications or
packages.
+The primary characteristics of stable releases is that they attempt to
+fix issues and not introduce any new regressions while keeping backwards
+compatibility with the initial release of the stable version.
+
The Long Term Support release (LTS) is a designation applied to a Stable
Release to indicate longer term support.
@@ -94,12 +98,29 @@ commit message body as follows::
Fixes not suitable for backport should not include the ``Cc: stable@dpdk.org`` tag.
-Features should not be backported to stable releases. It may be acceptable, in
-limited cases, to back port features for the LTS release where:
+To support the goal of stability and not introducing regressions, new code
+being introduced is limited to bug fixes. New features should not be backported
+to stable releases.
-* There is a justifiable use case (for example a new PMD).
-* The change is non-invasive.
-* The work of preparing the backport is done by the proposer.
-* There is support within the community.
+In some limited cases, it may be acceptable to backport a new feature
+to a stable release. Some of the factors which impact the decision by
+stable maintainers are as follows:
+* Does the feature break API/ABI?
+* Does the feature break backwards compatibility?
+* Is it for the latest LTS release (to avoid LTS upgrade issues)?
+* Is there a commitment from the proposer or affiliation to validate the feature and check for regressions in related functionality?
+* Is there a track record of the proposer or affiliation validating stable releases?
+* Is it obvious that the feature will not impact existing functionality?
+* How intrusive is the code change?
+* What is the scope of the code change?
+* Does it impact common components or vendor specific?
+* Is there a justifiable use case (a clear user need)?
+* Is there a community consensus about the backport?
+
+Performance improvements are generally not considered to be fixes, but may be considered
+in some cases where:
+
+* It is fixing a performance regression that occurred previously.
+* An existing feature in LTS is not usable as intended without it.
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