Difference between revisions of "Release and support cycle"

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Joomla! is developed using a fixed release cycle. '''Every six months''', the Joomla! Project releases a new ''minor'' or ''major'' version of Joomla!. (Joomla!'s version format is <tt>[major].[minor].[maintenance]</tt>.)
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{{warning|title=Information is out of date|This information is out of date and being updated. The new development strategy is [http://developer.joomla.org/news/584-joomla-improved-release-cycle-for-the-people-by-the-people.html announced here], please read the [http://developer.joomla.org/news/586-joomla-development-strategy.html full text of the development strategy] for more information. This notice was modified on '''30 Apr 2014'''.}}
  
Each version of Joomla! is supported by the Joomla! Project for a limited amount of time. There are two classifications for suppport: standard support (STS) and long term support (LTS). Every third release will be assigned long term support.
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Joomla! is developed using a fixed release cycle. '''Every six months''', the Joomla! Project releases a new ''minor'' or ''major'' version of Joomla!. Joomla!'s version format is:
  
*'''STS (standard support)''' releases are supported for '''six months'''. Their support ends one month after the next release of Joomla is released.
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:''<pre>[major].[minor].[maintenance]</pre>''
*'''LTS (long term support)''' releases are supported for '''eighteen months'''.
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Each version of Joomla! is supported by the Joomla! Project for a limited amount of time. There are two classifications for support: short term support (STS) and long term support (LTS). Every '''fourth''' release will be assigned long term support.
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:*'''STS (short term support)''' releases are supported for '''seven months'''. Their support ends one month after the next release of Joomla is released. They are one click upgrades to the next STS or LTS version.
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:*'''LTS (long term support)''' releases are supported for '''twenty-seven months'''.
  
 
Please note that both STS and LTS releases, once they have reached the ''GA (General Availability)'' status, are fully functional and ready to be used in production environment. The disadvantage of using STS releases is that you will need to update your installation of Joomla! every six months, while the advantage is that you will have access to new features and extensions earlier.
 
Please note that both STS and LTS releases, once they have reached the ''GA (General Availability)'' status, are fully functional and ready to be used in production environment. The disadvantage of using STS releases is that you will need to update your installation of Joomla! every six months, while the advantage is that you will have access to new features and extensions earlier.
  
Generally, STS releases introduce fundamentally new features and changes that break compatibility with the previous LTS, while LTS releases can be seen as the finalization of the work of the previous two STS releases. Therefore STS releases will usually be numbered <tt>[major].0</tt> and <tt>[major].1</tt> and LTS releases will be numbered <tt>[major].5</tt>. For example, the STS release 3.0 will include breaking changes from 2.5, and 3.5 will include matured versions of the changes in 3.0 and 3.1.
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Generally, the first STS release after an LTS release indicates the beginning of a new ''major release cycle''. This STS release introduces fundamentally new features and changes that break compatibility with the previous LTS. Two more STS releases follow (usually compatible with the first STS release), and the release cycle is finished by the release of an LTS release which finalizes the work of the three STS releases. The four releases in one cycle will usually be numbered <tt>[major].0</tt>,<tt>[major].1</tt> and <tt>[major].2</tt> (STS) and <tt>[major].5</tt> (LTS). For example, the STS release 3.0 will include breaking changes from 2.5, and 3.5 will include matured versions of the changes in 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2.
  
Usually, there will be a migration path (an officially supported way of migrating to the next version) between two LTS releases (from 1.5 to 2.5, for example) and between an LTS release and its '''previous''' STS releases (from 1.7 to 2.5, for example), but not to the '''following''' STS releases (from 2.5 to 3.0, for example).
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Usually, there will be a migration path (an officially supported way of migrating to the next version) between two LTS releases (from <tt>[major].5</tt> to <tt>[next major].5</tt>) and between an LTS release and the STS releases in its major release cycle (from <tt>[major].2</tt> to <tt>[major].5</tt>, for example), but not necessarily to the '''following''' STS releases (from <tt>[major].5</tt> to <tt>[next major].0</tt>). In the case of 1.5 to 2.5 (LTS to LTS), for example, there is a migration path. Note that in the case of 2.5 to 3.0 (LTS to STS), there is also built-in migration path, since the changes aren't too incompatible.
  
For more information, see [http://developer.joomla.org/strategy.html the official Development Strategy].
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For more information, see [http://developer.joomla.org/cms/development-strategy.html the official Development Strategy].
  
 
The latest STS version documented on this Wiki is {{CurrentSTSVer}} (see [[:Category:Joomla! {{CurrentSTSVer|minor}}]]). The latest LTS version documented on this Wiki is {{CurrentLTSVer}} (see [[:Category:Joomla! {{CurrentLTSVer|minor}}]]).
 
The latest STS version documented on this Wiki is {{CurrentSTSVer}} (see [[:Category:Joomla! {{CurrentSTSVer|minor}}]]). The latest LTS version documented on this Wiki is {{CurrentLTSVer}} (see [[:Category:Joomla! {{CurrentLTSVer|minor}}]]).
 
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<noinclude>
[[Category:Development]]
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[[Category:Development Reference]]
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[[Category:Joomla! versions]]</noinclude>

Revision as of 10:43, 30 April 2014

Stop hand nuvola.svg.png
Information is out of date

This information is out of date and being updated. The new development strategy is announced here, please read the full text of the development strategy for more information. This notice was modified on 30 Apr 2014.


Joomla! is developed using a fixed release cycle. Every six months, the Joomla! Project releases a new minor or major version of Joomla!. Joomla!'s version format is:

[major].[minor].[maintenance]

Each version of Joomla! is supported by the Joomla! Project for a limited amount of time. There are two classifications for support: short term support (STS) and long term support (LTS). Every fourth release will be assigned long term support.

  • STS (short term support) releases are supported for seven months. Their support ends one month after the next release of Joomla is released. They are one click upgrades to the next STS or LTS version.
  • LTS (long term support) releases are supported for twenty-seven months.

Please note that both STS and LTS releases, once they have reached the GA (General Availability) status, are fully functional and ready to be used in production environment. The disadvantage of using STS releases is that you will need to update your installation of Joomla! every six months, while the advantage is that you will have access to new features and extensions earlier.

Generally, the first STS release after an LTS release indicates the beginning of a new major release cycle. This STS release introduces fundamentally new features and changes that break compatibility with the previous LTS. Two more STS releases follow (usually compatible with the first STS release), and the release cycle is finished by the release of an LTS release which finalizes the work of the three STS releases. The four releases in one cycle will usually be numbered [major].0,[major].1 and [major].2 (STS) and [major].5 (LTS). For example, the STS release 3.0 will include breaking changes from 2.5, and 3.5 will include matured versions of the changes in 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2.

Usually, there will be a migration path (an officially supported way of migrating to the next version) between two LTS releases (from [major].5 to [next major].5) and between an LTS release and the STS releases in its major release cycle (from [major].2 to [major].5, for example), but not necessarily to the following STS releases (from [major].5 to [next major].0). In the case of 1.5 to 2.5 (LTS to LTS), for example, there is a migration path. Note that in the case of 2.5 to 3.0 (LTS to STS), there is also built-in migration path, since the changes aren't too incompatible.

For more information, see the official Development Strategy.

The latest STS version documented on this Wiki is 3.10.12 (see Category:Joomla! 3.10). The latest LTS version documented on this Wiki is 2.5.28 (see Category:Joomla! 2.5).