The following is a concise explanation of how Operator SDK versions are determined. The Operator SDK versioning follows semantic versioning standards.
Operator SDK milestones represent changes to the SDK spanning multiple issues, such as a design change. Milestones help SDK developers determine how close we are to new releases, either major or minor; a milestone must be completed before a new version is released. Milestones and their involved issues are determined by maintainers.
Milestone labels have the form: milestone-x.y.0, where x and y are major and minor SDK versions, respectively. This particular milestone demarcates the SDK x.y.0 release; once issues within this milestone are addressed, the release process can begin.
Major version changes can break compatibility between the previous major versions; they are not necessarily backwards or forwards compatible. SDK change targets include but are not limited to:
operator-sdkcommand and sub-commands- Golang API
- Formats of various yaml manifest files
Minor version changes will not break compatibility between the previous minor versions; to do so is a bug. SDK changes will involve addition of optional features, non-breaking enhancements, and minor bug fixes identified from previous versions.
Patch versions changes are meant only for bug fixes, and will not break compatibility of the current minor version. A patch release will contain a collection of minor bug fixes, or individual major and security bug fixes, depending on severity.