diff docs/DeveloperPolicy.rst @ 100:7d135dc70f03 LLVM 3.9

LLVM 3.9
author Miyagi Mitsuki <e135756@ie.u-ryukyu.ac.jp>
date Tue, 26 Jan 2016 22:53:40 +0900
parents afa8332a0e37
children 1172e4bd9c6f
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/docs/DeveloperPolicy.rst	Tue Oct 13 17:49:56 2015 +0900
+++ b/docs/DeveloperPolicy.rst	Tue Jan 26 22:53:40 2016 +0900
@@ -525,6 +525,33 @@
   it is to drop it. That is not very user friendly and a bit more effort is
   expected, but no promises are made.
 
+C API Changes
+----------------
+
+* Stability Guarantees: The C API is, in general, a "best effort" for stability.
+  This means that we make every attempt to keep the C API stable, but that
+  stability will be limited by the abstractness of the interface and the
+  stability of the C++ API that it wraps. In practice, this means that things
+  like "create debug info" or "create this type of instruction" are likely to be
+  less stable than "take this IR file and JIT it for my current machine".
+
+* Release stability: We won't break the C API on the release branch with patches
+  that go on that branch, with the exception that we will fix an unintentional
+  C API break that will keep the release consistent with both the previous and
+  next release.
+
+* Testing: Patches to the C API are expected to come with tests just like any
+  other patch.
+
+* Including new things into the API: If an LLVM subcomponent has a C API already
+  included, then expanding that C API is acceptable. Adding C API for
+  subcomponents that don't currently have one needs to be discussed on the
+  mailing list for design and maintainability feedback prior to implementation.
+
+* Documentation: Any changes to the C API are required to be documented in the
+  release notes so that it's clear to external users who do not follow the
+  project how the C API is changing and evolving.
+
 .. _copyright-license-patents:
 
 Copyright, License, and Patents