NAME

Dancer2::DeprecationPolicy - Define the process by which

VERSION

version 0.400000

DESCRIPTION

While there are conflicting ideas about deprecation, in Dancer2, deprecated code is code that:

Is in the way of implementing important features or fixes that provide more value.
Has a negative impact on the integrity and security of user code, whether by misusing it to not.
Provides a negative experience for the users.

Deprecated code is code we either had to write and can now remove or we thought was a good idea and were wrong. It is code that doesn't overall benefit users or the developers.

Deprecated code is code that is marked for eventual removal and we do not intend to keep in the Dancer2 codebase.

DEPRECATION PROCESS

Code to be deprecated is posted/discussed publicly (see below)
Deprecated code enters soft deprecation phase
After 12 months or 2 major releases, code is hard deprecated
After 6 months or 1 major release, hard deprecated code is removed

Deprecated code is marked with warnings and the version and/or date in which it will no longer be available.

Public Notice

When a feature/code is to be deprecated, the Dancer Core Team will create a new GitHub issue for the code/feature to be deprecated, and announce this in a public manner (blog post, Twitter, and the mailing list, at minimum). The notice should provide the reason for the deprecation, what Dancer2/the community is gaining as a result of the deprecation, and what the officially recognized alternative to the deprecated code is.

The public notice period will provide the developer/user base an opportunity to voice objections or provide feedback or alternatives to deprecation. It also allows the Core Team to better assess the potential long range effects of deprecation.

While the deprecated feature/code can be discussed by community, the decision will be ultimately made by the Dancer Core Team. There is no definitive time for the public notice period to end; some deprecations are more urgent than others, and each situation is left to the discretion of the Core Team, with feedback from the community.

Soft Deprecation

When code is soft deprecated, a warning will be thrown to indicate that the code is to be considered deprecated. Apps will continue to function normally otherwise.

Hard Deprecation

After 12 months or two major releases (whichever comes first), the code is considered to be hard deprecated. An error will continue to be thrown, but unlike soft deprecation, continued usage of the deprecated code will cause the application to die.

There is one caveat to this: code will never be deprecated for less than 6 months. So if we deprecate code after v0.500000, become unusually productive, and produce Dancer 0.600000 and 0.700000 in a two month timeframe, no deprecated code will be removed because 6 months hasn't elapsed.

Removal

Six months following hard deprecation, or one major release after hard deprecation, the deprecated code is removed from Dancer2.

EXCEPTIONS

In special cases, based on community feedback, these timelines may be extended. But we expect this to be a rare occurrence, at best.

PLUGINS

We strongly encourage (but cannot/do not require) plugin authors to adopt the same policy.

AUTHOR

Dancer Core Developers

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.