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This document describes version 5 of Unblu. If you’re using the latest major version of Unblu, go to the documentation of the latest version. The support period for version 5 ended on 22 November 2021. We no longer provide support or updates for this version. You should upgrade to the latest version of Unblu. |
Release policy and versioning
An understanding of the Unblu versioning scheme and its implications for the support life cycle is important for planning your own update schedule.
Versioning scheme
As of Unblu 5, Unblu versions comply with the Semantic Versioning specification. In this scheme, a version’s impact is usually measured with regard to the public API, often referred to as breaking changes.
The version numbers convey information about what has changed from one version to the next. Versions use a sequence of three digits — <major>.<minor>.<patch>(.<qualifier>) — to describe the impact of an update of the software. The meaning of the <major>.<minor>.<patch> version scheme is defined as follows:
-
A
<major>digit increment is used when incompatible API changes are introduced, -
A
<minor>digit increment is used when functionality is added in a backwards-compatible manner. -
A
<patch>digit increment is used for backwards-compatible bug fixes.
Release versions are sparse, i.e. the next public version after, say, 5.1.6 might be 5.1.9.
When the version is updated with an increment of the <minor> digit, this is called a new minor version. Once a new minor version is publicly available, there will be no <patch> updates for earlier minor versions. For example, if the last minor version was 5.1.5, there will be no release version 5.1.6 once 5.2.0 has been released.
Release life cycle
In addition to public releases, various internal releases exist during the development phase of a release stream.
- Development versions
-
Preview versions published before a feature freeze. Development versions are released in the early development phase. They are versioned according to the following pattern:
<major>.<minor>.<patch>-alpha.<increment>, e.g.6.0.0-alpha.0,6.0.0-alpha.1 - Stabilization versions
-
After feature freeze, Unblu may release stabilization versions prior to the first public version of a stream.
<major>.<minor>.<patch>-beta.<number>, e.g.6.0.0-beta.0,6.0.0-beta.1 - Hotfix versions
-
if a customer needs a hotfix, then it is versioned using the pattern
<major>.<minor>.<patch>-hotfix.<number>, e.g.5.1.3-hotfix.0,5.1.3-hotfix.1
Alpha and beta versions are only prepared for major releases, there is no 5.2.0-beta.0 version. |
The following diagram illustrates the Unblu release life cycle:
Standard support life cycle
Unblu supports major versions of the product for 24 months after the first official release date of the superseding major version of the product. This holds true regardless of how many subsequent major releases were made after the respective release.
As outlined above, the versioning scheme introduces no breaking changes in minor versions or patch versions. Customers on the previous major version will therefore be asked to upgrade to the latest minor or patch release to address potential problems with the software.
An upgrade of a minor release or a patch release will never require a migration effort on your part.
Example
To illustrate the support life cycle, suppose a new major version, Unblu 10.0.0, is released on 1 May 2022. At that time, the major version being shipped is 9.8.13.
The release of Unblu 10.0.0 triggers the support period countdown for the preceding version. The standard support period for version 9.x.x will end on 1 May 2024.
Customers on version 9.x.x of the platform will be asked to continue to upgrade to the latest minor/patch release of the Unblu 9 release train to address any problems.
If Unblu 11.0.0 were released before 1 May 2024, this would trigger the standard support countdown for version 10.x.x. The support countdown for version 9.x.x, however, would not be affected. It would continue until 1 May 2024.
| Unblu 5.0 was a limited feature release. As a result, Unblu 5.1 replaced Unblu 4.3 and triggered the support life cycle countdown for version 4.x. |
Recent and upcoming life cycle events
| Version | Life cycle event | Date of event |
|---|---|---|
Unblu 4.3 |
End of support period |
7 March 2021 |
Unblu 5 |
End of support period |
22 November 2021 |
Unblu 6 |
Maintenance only |
Upon release of Unblu 7 |
| Version | Life cycle event | Date of event |
|---|---|---|
SDK v2 |
End of support period |
22 November 2021 |
SDK v3 |
Public availability |
7 May 2021 |
| Unblu Mobile SDK v3 is not compatible with Unblu server v5. |
| Version | Life cycle event | Date of event |
|---|---|---|
1 |
End of support period |
Upon release of Unblu 7 |
The release of Unblu 7 will trigger the support countdown for the following products:
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Unblu Collaboration Server v6
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Unblu Mobile SDK v3