[dpdk-dev] [PATCH v5] doc: policy on the promotion of experimental APIs

[Thomas Monjalon]

04/08/2021 11:34, Ray Kinsella:
> Clarifying the ABI policy on the promotion of experimental APIS to stable.
> We have a fair number of APIs that have been experimental for more than
> 2 years. This policy amendment indicates that these APIs should be
> promoted or removed, or should at least form a conservation between the

s/conservation/conversation/

> maintainer and original contributor.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Ray Kinsella <mdr at ashroe.eu>
> Acked-by: Tyler Retzlaff <roretzla at linux.microsoft.com>
> ---
> +#. Libraries or APIs marked as :ref:`experimental <experimental_apis>` may be
> +   changed or removed without prior notice, as they are not considered part of
> +   an ABI version. The :ref:`experimental <experimental_apis>` status of an API
> +   is not an indefinite state.
[...]
> +Promotion to stable
> +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> +
> +An API's ``experimental`` status should be reviewed annually, by both the
> +maintainer and/or the original contributor. Ordinarily APIs marked as
> +``experimental`` will be promoted to the stable ABI once a maintainer has become
> +satisfied that the API is mature and is unlikely to change.
> +
> +In exceptional circumstances, should an API still be classified as
> +``experimental`` after two years and is without any prospect of becoming part of
> +the stable API. The API will then become a candidate for removal, to avoid the
> +accumulation of abandoned symbols.
> +
> +Should an API's Binary Interface change, usually due to a direct change to the

API's Binary Interface?
I assume you mean ABI.

> +API's signature, it is reasonable for the review and expiry clocks to reset. The
> +promotion or removal of symbols will typically form part of a conversation
> +between the maintainer and the original contributor.

Acked-by: Thomas Monjalon <thomas at monjalon.net>

Applied with above changes, thanks.