[dpdk-dev] [PATCH v5] doc: policy on the promotion of experimental APIs

[Ray Kinsella <mdr@ashroe.eu>]

Clarifying the ABI policy on the promotion of experimental APIS to stable.
We have a fair number of APIs that have been experimental for more than
2 years. This policy amendment indicates that these APIs should be
promoted or removed, or should at least form a conservation between the
maintainer and original contributor.

Signed-off-by: Ray Kinsella <mdr@ashroe.eu>
Acked-by: Tyler Retzlaff <roretzla@linux.microsoft.com>
---
v2: comments on abi expiry from Tyler Retzlaff.
v3: typos in the git commit message
v4: typos and comments by Jerin Jacob
v5: typos caught by the CI

 doc/guides/contributing/abi_policy.rst | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/guides/contributing/abi_policy.rst b/doc/guides/contributing/abi_policy.rst
index 4ad87dbfed..520763b63a 100644
--- a/doc/guides/contributing/abi_policy.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/contributing/abi_policy.rst
@@ -26,9 +26,10 @@ General Guidelines
    symbols is managed with :ref:`ABI Versioning <abi_versioning>`.
 #. The removal of symbols is considered an :ref:`ABI breakage <abi_breakages>`,
    once approved these will form part of the next ABI version.
-#. Libraries or APIs marked as :ref:`experimental <experimental_apis>` may
-   be changed or removed without prior notice, as they are not considered part
-   of an ABI version.
+#. Libraries or APIs marked as :ref:`experimental <experimental_apis>` may be
+   changed or removed without prior notice, as they are not considered part of
+   an ABI version. The :ref:`experimental <experimental_apis>` status of an API
+   is not an indefinite state.
 #. Updates to the :ref:`minimum hardware requirements <hw_rqmts>`, which drop
    support for hardware which was previously supported, should be treated as an
    ABI change.
@@ -358,3 +359,21 @@ Libraries
 Libraries marked as ``experimental`` are entirely not considered part of an ABI
 version.
 All functions in such libraries may be changed or removed without prior notice.
+
+Promotion to stable
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+An API's ``experimental`` status should be reviewed annually, by both the
+maintainer and/or the original contributor. Ordinarily APIs marked as
+``experimental`` will be promoted to the stable ABI once a maintainer has become
+satisfied that the API is mature and is unlikely to change.
+
+In exceptional circumstances, should an API still be classified as
+``experimental`` after two years and is without any prospect of becoming part of
+the stable API. The API will then become a candidate for removal, to avoid the
+accumulation of abandoned symbols.
+
+Should an API's Binary Interface change, usually due to a direct change to the
+API's signature, it is reasonable for the review and expiry clocks to reset. The
+promotion or removal of symbols will typically form part of a conversation
+between the maintainer and the original contributor.
-- 
2.26.2