Release Lifecycle¶
ThinkGeo follows a standard release lifecycle for all map controls and services. There are 3 types of releases outlined below.
1. Major Release (X.0.0 or X.X.0) e.g. 14.0.0 or 14.1.0¶
- Purpose: Introduces groundbreaking features, new user interfaces, or fundamental changes to the codebase.
- Frequency: Semi-annual. Usually May and November
- Testing: All major releases go through a full regression test cycle.
- Impact: Some APIs might be marked as deprecated and will be removed in future versions.
2. Hotfix Release (X.X.1 or X.X.2) e.g. 14.1.1 or 14.1.2¶
- Purpose: Addresses urgent, critical bugs, security vulnerabilities, or small fixes.
- Frequency: As needed. Typically as a follow-up to a major release.
- Scope: Very focused, low-risk, and rapid deployment to resolve specific issues.
- Testing: Hotfixes do are not fully regression tested
- Impact: Will never contain breaking changes or removal of api functions.
3. Beta Release (X.X.X-betaXXX) e.g. 14.1.2-beta037¶
- Purpose: To gather real-world feedback and identify edge-case bugs by allowing a subset of users to test the software.
- Frequency: Very frequent. Any time changes are committed to the develop branch.
- Scope: Varies based on customer needs and new features being developed.
- Testing: Tested by developers and unit tests. Regression testing is not performed on beta releases.
- Impact: Some APIs might be marked as deprecated and will be removed in future versions.