Re: [RFC PATCH] Feature doc: Added Feature Maturity Lifecycle

[Andrew Cooper <andrew.cooper3@citrix.com>]

On 06/11/15 17:35, Lars Kurth wrote:
> +# State Definitions
> +
> +This section lists state definitions of a **Feature** in terms of
> +properties. This section talks about Features, for readability, but
> +is used interchangeably between **Features** and **Platforms**.
> +
> +States are listed in order of increasing number
> +of properties. Note that note all features will require to go
> +through each state: for example small and non-risky features
> +may go straight from under development to supported. It is up to
> +the development community to judge and discuss, which states
> +are necessary based on the size and risk of a feature.
> +
> +## Preview
> +* Partially completed, with missing functionality
> +* May **not be fully functional** in all cases
> +* May **not be tested**
> +* APIs and interfaces may **not be stable**

"are not stable".

i.e. maintainers reserve the right to insist that the interfaces are
changed.

For preview and experimental features, it is quite possible that hidden
design considerations become visible after the initial code is committed.

As a result, it is important that nothing is set in stone while the
feature itself is still in development.

> +* The developer is actively looking for user feedback
> +* Bugs and issues can be raised on xen-devel@ and will be
> +  handled on a best-effort basis

Probably best to explicitly state that there is no security support for
Preview/Experimental features.  By their classification, they are not
ready for production use.

> +
> +## Experimental
> +* Core functionality is **fully functional**
> +* However, not all functionality or platform support may be
> +  present
> +* May **not be tested**, although there is an expectation that a plan
> +  to improve testing is in place or worked on
> +* APIs and interfaces may **not be stable**
> +* Bugs and issues can be raised on xen-devel@ and will be
> +  handled on a best-effort basis. However, there is an expectation
> +  that issues related to broken core functionality are addressed.

I am not completely convinced by splitting Preview and Experiential. 
The difference between the two is quite subjective.

I would hope that the exact state of the feature in the range Nothing ->
Supported is easy to derive from the Limitations, Improvements and Known
Issues sections of its feature document.

~Andrew