API stability
=============
From its first release, ``cryptography`` will have a strong API stability
policy.
What does this policy cover?
----------------------------
This policy includes any API or behavior that is documented in this
documentation.
What does "stable" mean?
------------------------
* Public APIs will not be removed or renamed without providing a compatibility
alias.
* The behavior of existing APIs will not change.
What doesn't this policy cover?
-------------------------------
* We may add new features, things like the result of ``dir(obj))`` or the
contents of ``obj.__dict__`` may change.
* Objects are not guaranteed to be pickleable, and pickled objects from one
version of ``cryptography`` may not be loadable in future versions.
* Development versions of ``cryptography``. Before a feature is in a release,
it is not covered by this policy and may change.
Security
~~~~~~~~
One exception to our API stability policy is for security. We will violate this
policy as necessary in order to resolve a security issue or harden
``cryptography`` against a possible attack.
Deprecation
-----------
From time to time we will want to change the behavior of an API or remove it
entirely. In that case, here's how the process will work:
* In ``cryptography X.Y`` the feature exists.
* In ``cryptography X.Y+1`` using that feature will emit a
``PendingDeprecationWarning``.
* In ``cryptography X.Y+2`` using that feature will emit a
``DeprecationWarning``.
* In ``cryptography X.Y+3`` the feature will be removed or changed.
In short, code that runs without warnings will always continue to work for a
period of two releases.
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