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This article describes the release cycle and versioning model used for Litium Studio and Litium Scensum. New versions of Litium Studio and Litium Scensum are released either as major, minor or service versions. In addition to new versions, Hotfixes are released to correct critical bugs. Supporting Modules and Add-ons are compatible within a specific minor version of Litium Studio or Litium Scensum.
Litium Studio and Litium Scensum come in new versions at least once a year. There are also typically a number of Service version releases and Hotfixes each year.
To describe the version of a release the following schema is used: "major.minor.service". For example, version 4.4.3 means "major version 4, minor version 4, service 3". (The Assembly version of the core .NET assemblies that are shipped with a release only contain the major and minor number, meaning that all other .NET assemblies that are used in the solution need to recompiled only on a new minor or major version, not on service versions or with Hotfixes).
When a Hotfix is released, it is always associated to a specific version, for example "4.4.3 Hotfix 1".
Major versions
A new major version indicates a significant change in functionality and technology. Major versions of Litium Studio and Litium Scensum are released every 2-3 years. Because there will be a number of breaking changes with a new major version, upgrading to a new major version is a bigger step than upgrading between minor versions and will require modifications to the customers solution. All customer specific Add-ons and non-Litium Supporting Modules need to be recompiled and tested with the new version.
Minor versions
Minor versions contain new functionality as well as bug fixes and are released at least once a year. Minor versions are allowed to result in breaking changes meaning that some components in the customers solution might have to be modified and recompiled to work with the new version. All customer specific Add-ons and non-Litium Supporting Modules need to be recompiled and tested with the new version.
Service versions
A Service version release is a complete release of Litium Studio or Litium Scensum, with a number of bug fixes including all Hotfixes released so far (cumulative). This means that if you download the latest version, say 4.4.3, you don't need to apply any Hotfixes released prior to the release of version 4.4.3. However, if there are any Hotfixes released after the release of 4.4.3, you need to download and apply the latest Hotfix.
Service releases should not result in any breaking changes, therefore Add-ons and Supporting Modules should not need to be recompiled or modified. Upgrading to a Service version should not result in any modifications to the customers solution.
Hotfixes
If a critical bug is found, a Hotfix is released. Hotfixes are cumulative, meaning that the latest Hotfix on a Service version contains all prior Hotfixes, you do not need to apply any Hotfixes released prior to the Service version release. A Hotfix is not a complete release, it only contains the files needed to adress the included fixes.
Hotfixes are not allowed to result in any breaking changes, therefore Add-ons and Supporting Modules do not need to be recompiled or modified. Applying a Hotfix should not result in any modifications to the customers solution.
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