Versioning and Compatibility Policy

DB Tester follows Semantic Versioning 2.0.0. A release version has the form MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH. All published modules share one version and release together.

Version increments

Increment	When
MAJOR	A backward-incompatible change to a stable API.
MINOR	A backward-compatible feature addition.
PATCH	A backward-compatible bug fix.

Pre-1.0 (0.x) caveat

While the version is below 1.0.0, the API is still stabilizing. Under SemVer, a 0.x release may introduce backward-incompatible changes in a MINOR increment (for example, 0.8.x to 0.9.0). Breaking changes in the 0.x series are recorded in the changelog.

API stability tiers

The db-tester-api module groups packages by intended audience and stability. The module descriptor (module-info.java) records the same grouping.

Tier	Packages	Compatibility
User API	annotation, config, operation, exception, preparation	Stable. Backward-compatible within a major version once 1.0 ships.
Advanced API	assertion, export, domain, dataset	Stable. Programmatic surface for advanced users.
Extension SPI	spi, loader, context, scenario	Evolving. Supported, but may gain capabilities; integrators should expect additive changes.

Types under the internal packages of any module are implementation details and are not part of the public API, regardless of Java visibility.

What counts as a breaking change

For the stable tiers, the following are breaking and require a MAJOR increment (post-1.0):

• Removing or renaming a public type, method, field, or annotation attribute.
• Changing a method signature or return type.
• Narrowing accepted input or widening a thrown checked exception.
• Changing documented runtime behavior in a way that breaks a conforming caller.

The following are not breaking:

• Adding a new type, method, overload, or annotation attribute with a default.
• Widening a requires directive to transitive.
• Adding a new enum constant (callers must handle unknown constants defensively).

Deprecation policy

Before a stable API element is removed, it is deprecated for at least one MINOR release:

• The element is annotated @Deprecated, with forRemoval = true and a since value.
• The Javadoc names the replacement.
• Removal occurs no earlier than the next MAJOR release after deprecation.

The Extension SPI tier may change with a shorter notice because it targets integrators who track the framework closely.