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Simplified the "Release Process" page #10134

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Simplified the "Release Process" page
javiereguiluz Jul 31, 2018
beaa6a3
Deleted the image file too
javiereguiluz Jul 31, 2018
6d51fa5
Fixed minor issues
javiereguiluz Aug 7, 2018
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190 changes: 45 additions & 145 deletions contributing/community/releases.rst
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@@ -1,17 +1,25 @@
The Release Process
===================

This document explains the **release process** of the Symfony project (i.e. the
code hosted on the main ``symfony/symfony`` `Git repository`_).
This document explains the process followed by the Symfony project to develop,
release and maintain its different versions.

Symfony manages its releases through a *time-based model* and follows the
`Semantic Versioning`_ strategy:
Symfony releases follow the `semantic versioning`_ strategy and they are
published through a *time-based model*:

* A new Symfony minor version (e.g. 2.8, 3.2, 4.1) comes out every *six months*:
one in *May* and one in *November*;
* A new Symfony major version (e.g., 3.0, 4.0) comes out every *two years* and
it's released at the same time of the last minor version of the previous major
version.
* A new **Symfony patch version** (e.g. 2.8.15, 4.1.7) comes out roughly every
month. It only contains bug fixes, so you can safely upgrade your apps;
* A new **Symfony minor version** (e.g. 2.8, 3.2, 4.1) comes out every *six months*:
one in *May* and one in *November*. It contains bug fixes and new features, but
it doesn't include any breaking change, so you can safely upgrade your apps;
* A new **Symfony major version** (e.g., 3.0, 4.0) comes out every *two years*.
It can contain breaking changes, so you may need to do some changes in your
apps before upgrading.

.. tip::

`Subscribe to Symfony Roadmap notifications`_ to receive an email when a new
Symfony version is published or when a Symfony version reaches its end of life.

.. _contributing-release-development:

Expand All @@ -32,113 +40,36 @@ During the development phase, any new feature can be reverted if it won't be
finished in time or if it won't be stable enough to be included in the current
final release.

.. tip::

Check out the `Symfony Roadmap`_ to learn more about any specific version.

.. _contributing-release-maintenance:
.. _symfony-versions:
.. _releases-lts:

Maintenance
-----------

Each Symfony version is maintained for a fixed period of time, depending on the
type of the release. This maintenance is divided into:

* *Bug fixes and security fixes*: During this period, all issues can be fixed.
The end of this period is referenced as being the *end of maintenance* of a
release.

* *Security fixes only*: During this period, only security related issues can
be fixed. The end of this period is referenced as being the *end of life* of
a release.

.. note::

The :doc:`maintenance document </contributing/code/maintenance>` describes
the boundaries of acceptable changes during maintenance.

Symfony Versions
----------------

Standard Versions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A **Standard Minor Version** is maintained for an *eight month* period for bug
fixes, and for a *fourteen month* period for security issue fixes.

In Symfony 2.x branch, the number of minor versions wasn't constrained, so that
branch ended up with nine minor versions (from 2.0 to 2.8). Starting from
3.x branch, the number of minor versions is limited to five (from X.0 to X.4).
Starting from Symfony 3.x branch, the number of minor versions is limited to
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Starting from the Symfony 3.x branch [...]

five per branch (X.0, X.1, X.2, X.3 and X.4). The last minor version of a branch
(e.g. 3.4, 4.4, 5.4) is considered a **long-term support version** and the other
ones are considered **standard versions**:

.. _releases-lts:

Long Term Support Versions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every two years, a new **Long Term Support Version** (usually abbreviated as "LTS")
is published. Each LTS version is supported for a *three year* period for bug
fixes, and for a *four year* period for security issue fixes.
======================= ===================== ================================
Version Type Bugs are fixed for... Security issues are fixed for...
======================= ===================== ================================
Standard 8 months 14 months
Long-Term Support (LTS) 3 years 4 years
======================= ===================== ================================

.. note::

Paid support after the three year support provided by the community can
also be bought from `SensioLabs`_.

In the Symfony 2.x branch, the LTS versions are 2.3, 2.7 and 2.8. Starting from the 3.x
branch, only the last minor version of each branch is considered LTS (e.g. 3.4,
4.4, 5.4, etc.)

Schedule
--------

Below is the schedule for the first few versions that use this release model:

.. image:: /_images/contributing/release-process.jpg
:align: center

* **Yellow** represents the Development phase
* **Blue** represents the Stabilization phase
* **Green** represents the Maintenance period
After the active maintenance of a Symfony version has ended, you can get
`professional Symfony support`_ from SensioLabs, the company which sponsors
the Symfony project.

.. tip::

If you want to learn more about the timeline of any given Symfony version,
use the online `timeline calculator`_.

.. tip::

Whenever an important event related to Symfony versions happens (a version
reaches end of maintenance or a new patch version is released for
instance), you can automatically receive an email notification if you
subscribed on the `roadmap notification`_ page.

.. _version-history:

============ ============== ======= ======================== ===========
Version Feature Freeze Release End of Maintenance End of Life
============ ============== ======= ======================== ===========
`2.0`_ 05/2011 07/2011 03/2013 (20 months) 09/2013
`2.1`_ 07/2012 09/2012 05/2013 (9 months) 11/2013
`2.2`_ 01/2013 03/2013 11/2013 (8 months) 05/2014
`2.3`_ (LTS) 03/2013 05/2013 05/2016 (36 months) 05/2017
`2.4`_ 09/2013 11/2013 09/2014 (10 months [1]_) 01/2015
`2.5`_ 03/2014 05/2014 01/2015 (8 months) 07/2015
`2.6`_ 09/2014 11/2014 07/2015 (8 months) 01/2016
`2.7`_ (LTS) 03/2015 05/2015 05/2018 (36 months) 05/2019
`2.8`_ (LTS) 09/2015 11/2015 11/2018 (36 months [2]_) 11/2019
`3.0`_ 09/2015 11/2015 07/2016 (8 months [3]_) 01/2017
`3.1`_ 03/2016 05/2016 01/2017 (8 months) 07/2017
`3.2`_ 09/2016 11/2016 07/2017 (8 months) 01/2018
`3.3`_ 03/2017 05/2017 01/2018 (8 months) 07/2018
`3.4`_ (LTS) 09/2017 11/2017 11/2020 (36 months) 11/2021
`4.0`_ 09/2017 11/2017 07/2018 (8 months) 01/2019
`4.1`_ 03/2018 05/2018 01/2019 (8 months) 07/2019
`4.2`_ 09/2018 11/2018 07/2019 (8 months) 01/2020
`4.3`_ 03/2019 05/2019 01/2020 (8 months) 07/2020
`4.4`_ (LTS) 09/2019 11/2019 11/2022 (36 months) 11/2023
`5.0`_ 09/2019 11/2019 07/2020 (8 months) 01/2021
... ... ... ... ...
============ ============== ======= ======================== ===========

.. [1] Symfony 2.4 maintenance has been `extended to September 2014`_.
.. [2] Symfony 2.8 is the last version of the Symfony 2.x branch.
.. [3] Symfony 3.0 is the first version to use the new release process based on five minor releases.
.. _deprecations:

Backward Compatibility
----------------------
Expand All @@ -147,20 +78,9 @@ Our :doc:`Backward Compatibility Promise </contributing/code/bc>` is very
strict and allows developers to upgrade with confidence from one minor version
of Symfony to the next one.

Whenever keeping backward compatibility is not possible, the feature, the
enhancement or the bug fix will be scheduled for the next major version.

However, :doc:`Experimental Features </contributing/code/experimental>` are
**not** part of the backward compatibility promise and their APIs can change
from one minor version to the next. The changelog must explain the changes and
how to upgrade.

Deprecations
------------

When a feature implementation cannot be replaced with a better one without
breaking backward compatibility, there is still the possibility to deprecate
the old implementation and add a new preferred one along side. Read the
breaking backward compatibility, Symfony deprecates the old implementation and
adds a new preferred one along side. Read the
:ref:`conventions <contributing-code-conventions-deprecations>` document to
learn more about how deprecations are handled in Symfony.

Expand All @@ -180,6 +100,8 @@ This release process was adopted to give more *predictability* and
with Symfony and with projects using Symfony;
* Give time to the Symfony ecosystem to catch up with the new versions
(bundle authors, documentation writers, translators, ...).
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should end with a semicolon now

* Give companies a strict and predictable timeline they can rely on to plan
their own projects development.

The six month period was chosen as two releases fit in a year. It also allows
for plenty of time to work on new features and it allows for non-ready
Expand All @@ -192,29 +114,7 @@ version: a new version is published every six months, and there is a two months
period to upgrade. Companies wanting more stability use the LTS versions: a new
version is published every two years and there is a year to upgrade.

.. _Semantic Versioning: https://semver.org/
.. _Git repository: https://github.com/symfony/symfony
.. _SensioLabs: https://sensiolabs.com/
.. _roadmap notification: https://symfony.com/roadmap
.. _extended to September 2014: https://symfony.com/blog/extended-maintenance-for-symfony-2-4
.. _timeline calculator: https://symfony.com/roadmap#checker
.. _`2.0`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.0
.. _`2.1`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.1
.. _`2.2`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.2
.. _`2.3`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.3
.. _`2.4`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.4
.. _`2.5`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.5
.. _`2.6`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.6
.. _`2.7`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.7
.. _`2.8`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=2.8
.. _`3.0`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=3.0
.. _`3.1`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=3.1
.. _`3.2`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=3.2
.. _`3.3`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=3.3
.. _`3.4`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=3.4
.. _`4.0`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=4.0
.. _`4.1`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=4.1
.. _`4.2`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=4.2
.. _`4.3`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=4.3
.. _`4.4`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=4.4
.. _`5.0`: https://symfony.com/roadmap?version=5.0
.. _`semantic versioning`: https://semver.org/
.. _`Subscribe to Symfony Roadmap notifications`: https://symfony.com/account
.. _`Symfony Roadmap`: https://symfony.com/roadmap#checker
.. _`professional Symfony support`: https://sensiolabs.com/