From 8c4afe05ab0021533b673b9104412fa80d57c1eb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Steve Flanders Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2021 15:12:52 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Add initial status document --- docs/status.md | 40 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/status.md diff --git a/docs/status.md b/docs/status.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..9134de64363 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/status.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +# Definitions of Document Statuses + +Specification documents (files) MAY explicitly define a "Status". If they do, +they MUST display a status immediately after the document title. When present, +the "Status" applies to the individual document only and not to the entire +specification or any other documents. The following table describes what the +statuses mean. + +## Lifecycle status + +The support guarantees and allowed changes are governed by the lifecycle of the +document. Lifecycle stages are defined in the [versioning](versioning.md) document. + +|Status |Explanation| +|--------------------|-----------| +|No explicit "Status"|Equivalent to Experimental.| +|Experimental |Breaking changes are allowed.| +|Stable |Breaking changes are no longer allowed. See [stability guarantees](versioning.md) for details.| +|Deprecated |Changes are no longer allowed, except for editorial changes.| + +## Feature freeze + +In addition to the statuses above, documents may be marked as `Feature-freeze`. +These documents are not currently accepting new feature requests, to allow the +GDI specification maintainers time to focus on other areas of the specification. +Editorial changes are still accepted. Changes that address production issues +with existing features are still accepted. + +Feature freeze is separate from a lifecycle status. The lifecycle represents +the support requirements for the document, feature freeze only indicates the +current focus of the specification community. The feature freeze label may be +applied to a document at any lifecycle stage. By definition, deprecated +documents have a feature freeze in place. + +## Mixed + +Some documents have individual sections with different statues. These documents +MUST be marked with the status `Mixed` at the top, for clarity. If a document's +status is marked as `Mixed` then it MUST define at least two different statuses +in sections that follow within the document.