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Document what counts as a breaking change in the API stability rules
Spell out the 3.x compatibility rules in the roadmap: new defaulted parameters, new default arguments, noexcept/constexpr, template parameters, parse and dump results, accepted input, key iteration order, iterator invalidation, implicit conversions, to_json/from_json lookup, json_sax, value_t enumerators, and documented macros, CMake options and headers. Also list std::hash values as not part of the public API, and link the macro overview from the section. Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
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@@ -36,13 +36,26 @@ work items are tracked in the [GitHub milestones](https://github.com/nlohmann/js
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## API stability
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Releases follow [semantic versioning](https://semver.org): a minor or patch release of version 3.x does not break code
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that uses the public API. In particular, a 3.x release does not:
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that uses the public API, unless that code opts in to a change with a macro as described [below](#version-40). In
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particular, a 3.x release does not:
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- change the signature of a function (its parameter types, return type, number of parameters, or the const-ness of a
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member function);
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- remove or rename a function or class;
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- make breaking changes to the signature of a function: the types or order of its existing parameters, its return type,
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its `noexcept` or `constexpr` specifier, or the const-ness of a member function. New parameters may be added if they
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have a default value;
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- remove or rename a function or class, or change the template parameters of a public class template;
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- change which exceptions a function throws, or the [exception ids](../home/exceptions.md);
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- change access specifiers or default arguments.
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- change access specifiers, or change or remove existing default arguments. New default arguments may be added;
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- change the JSON type that a valid input parses to, or the text that `dump()` produces for a valid value;
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- accept input that was rejected before, or reject input that was accepted before;
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- change the order in which the keys of an object are iterated. The default type sorts keys, and
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[`ordered_json`](../api/ordered_json.md) keeps insertion order;
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- change when iterators, pointers, or references are invalidated, or the state of a moved-from `basic_json`;
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- add or remove implicit conversions from `basic_json`;
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- change how `to_json` and `from_json` functions are found, or the behavior of
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[`adl_serializer`](../api/adl_serializer/index.md);
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- add pure virtual functions to the [`json_sax`](../api/json_sax/index.md) interface;
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- remove, rename, renumber, or add enumerators of `value_t`;
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- remove or rename a documented macro, CMake option, CMake target, or header, or change what a documented macro does.
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Exceptions to these rules, for instance when fixing a bug requires changing the exception a function throws, are
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documented in the [release notes](../home/releases.md).
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@@ -51,13 +64,14 @@ The following are **not** part of the public API and may change in any release,
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- The text of exception messages returned by `what()`. Use the [exception id](../home/exceptions.md) to tell errors
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apart.
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- The ABI, including `sizeof(basic_json)` and the memory layout of its values. Recompile your code when you upgrade the
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library. The [versioned inline namespace](../features/namespace.md) turns mixing versions into a link error.
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- The ABI, including `sizeof(basic_json)` and the memory layout of its values. The
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[versioned inline namespace](../features/namespace.md) turns mixing versions into a link error.
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- The hash values returned by `std::hash` for `basic_json`. Numbers that compare equal still hash equally.
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- Everything in namespace `nlohmann::detail`, and macros and type traits that are not documented in the
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[API reference](../api/basic_json/index.md).
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Changes that would break the public API are only added behind a macro whose default keeps the 3.x behavior, see
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[Version 4.0](#version-40).
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Breaking changes are only added behind a macro whose default keeps the 3.x behavior. See [Version 4.0](#version-40) and
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the [macro overview](../features/macros.md).
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## Version 4.0
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