D versionning

[deadalnix]

On 16/07/2012 23:26, SomeDude wrote:
> On Monday, 16 July 2012 at 14:28:45 UTC, Jesse Phillips wrote:
>> On Monday, 16 July 2012 at 06:05:43 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
>>
>>> I've had a lot of my own working D code break because of name changes
>>> in Phobos. This is extremely annoying. I can fully understand that it
>>> drives people away. It's got to stop.
>>
>> Name changes have been the least annoying breaking change I've come
>> across from using D. Language design being the biggest.
>>
>> Luckily I've expected that, and recently hit has been very infrequent.
>> There are still changes that will be making big ripples (actually
>> maybe not so much if we are changing how we handle toHash...). Maybe
>> this unstable branch thing will allow us to make a bunch of a breaking
>> changes together when we have one of these required disruptions.
>
> I don't think the unstable branch should give you the false idea that
> you are free to make breaking changes, because in the end, they will be
> incorporated in the stable branch, breaking code, or the users will be
> stuck. So although there may be *some* breaking changes, they should
> stay relatively limited. Each breaking change should increment the x
> number in the 2.x.y scheme. So if the x moves too quickly, the stabe and
> unstable branches will quickly diverge to become unreconciliable.
>

This is exactly the reason why the 3 digit versionning system exists.