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Version

What does Version mean?

A Version of a model represents the final state of that model. Changes made to a model throughout its lifetime can be tracked by their Version numbers to provide a history of changes made. All models with a version number are described as Finalised.

As an example, given a new Data Model called "Test Data Model", the Versions could be created as such:

  1. Initial creation of "Test Data Model", then finalised to be Version 1.0.0
  2. A new draft is then created to make some alterations to the description of the model. This is then finalised to be Version 2.0.0
  3. Another new draft is then created, this time to alter the description and add Data Classes. This is then finalised to be Version 3.0.0

...and so on.

In this way, it is possible to trace the state of each Version of a model from its creation to now.

Version numbers are sequential and typically follow the same pattern as Semantic Versioning using major.minor.patch, such as 1.2.3:

  • Major update - represents a major change to the model, for example a major restructure. This updates the major number, e.g. 1.X.Y -> 2.0.0
  • Minor update - represents a minor, less encompasing change to the model, for example significantly updating text content but not altering the structure. This updates the minor number e.g. 1.0.X -> 1.1.0
  • Patch update - represents a very minor change to the model, for example fixing a gramatical mistake in a description. This updates the patch number e.g. 1.0.0 -> 1.0.1

It is also possible to define your own custom versioning scheme.

Why are Versions useful?

Versions and Version numbers are useful to definitively state that a model has a set contents to it and will not change; the only way to change a versioned model is to create a new version of it. This allows models to be very easily traced and makes publication of metadata very structured. Versions also allow readers of your models to easily tell what has changed between versions of a model.

How are Versions created?

To create a new version of a model, please refer to the user guide Branching, versioning and forking Data Models.