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<section id="format-versioning-and-stability">
<h1>Format Versioning and Stability<a class="headerlink" href="#format-versioning-and-stability" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h1>
<p>Starting with version 1.0.0, Apache Arrow uses
<strong>two versions</strong> to describe each release of the project:
the <strong>Format Version</strong> and the <strong>Library Version</strong>. Each Library
Version has a corresponding Format Version, and multiple versions of
the library may have the same format version. For example, library
versions 2.0.0 and 3.0.0 may both track format version 1.0.0. See
<a class="reference internal" href="../status.html"><span class="doc">Implementation Status</span></a> for details about supported features in each library.</p>
<p>For library versions prior to 1.0.0, major releases may contain API
changes. From 1.0.0 onward, we follow <a class="reference external" href="https://semver.org/">Semantic Versioning</a> with regards to communicating API changes. We
expect most releases to be major library releases.</p>
<section id="backward-compatibility">
<h2>Backward Compatibility<a class="headerlink" href="#backward-compatibility" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2>
<p>A newer versioned client library will be able to read any data and
metadata produced by an older client library.</p>
<p>So long as the <strong>major</strong> format version is not changed, a newer
library is backward compatible with an older library.</p>
</section>
<section id="forward-compatibility">
<h2>Forward Compatibility<a class="headerlink" href="#forward-compatibility" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2>
<p>An older client library must be able to either read data generated
from a new client library or detect that it cannot properly read the
data.</p>
<p>An increase in the <strong>minor</strong> version of the format version, such as
1.0.0 to 1.1.0, indicates that 1.1.0 contains new features not
available in 1.0.0. So long as these features are not used (such as a
new logical data type), forward compatibility is preserved.</p>
</section>
<section id="long-term-stability">
<h2>Long-Term Stability<a class="headerlink" href="#long-term-stability" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2>
<p>A change in the format major version (e.g. from 1.0.0 to 2.0.0)
indicates a disruption to these compatibility guarantees in some way.
We <strong>do not expect</strong> this to be a frequent occurrence.
This would be an exceptional
event and, should this come to pass, we would exercise caution in
ensuring that production applications are not harmed.</p>
</section>
<section id="pre-1-0-0-versions">
<h2>Pre-1.0.0 Versions<a class="headerlink" href="#pre-1-0-0-versions" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2>
<p>We made no forward or backward compatibility guarantees for
versions prior to 1.0.0. However, we made every effort to ensure
that new clients can read serialized data produced by library version
0.8.0 and onward.</p>
</section>
<section id="post-1-0-0-format-versions">
<span id="id1"></span><h2>Post-1.0.0 Format Versions<a class="headerlink" href="#post-1-0-0-format-versions" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2>
<p>Since version 1.0.0, there have been four new minor versions and zero new
major versions of the Arrow format. Each new minor version added new features.
When these new features are not used, the new minor format versions are
compatible with format version 1.0.0. The new features added in each minor
format version since 1.0.0 are as follows:</p>
<section id="version-1-1">
<h3>Version 1.1<a class="headerlink" href="#version-1-1" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Added 256-bit Decimal type.</p></li>
</ul>
</section>
<section id="version-1-2">
<h3>Version 1.2<a class="headerlink" href="#version-1-2" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Added MonthDayNano interval type.</p></li>
</ul>
</section>
<section id="version-1-3">
<h3>Version 1.3<a class="headerlink" href="#version-1-3" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Added <a class="reference internal" href="Columnar.html#run-end-encoded-layout"><span class="std std-ref">Run-End Encoded Layout</span></a>.</p></li>
</ul>
</section>
<section id="version-1-4">
<h3>Version 1.4<a class="headerlink" href="#version-1-4" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h3>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>Added <a class="reference internal" href="Columnar.html#variable-size-binary-view-layout"><span class="std std-ref">Variable-size Binary View Layout</span></a> and the associated BinaryView
and Utf8View types.</p></li>
<li><p>Added <a class="reference internal" href="Columnar.html#listview-layout"><span class="std std-ref">ListView Layout</span></a> and the associated ListView and LargeListView
types.</p></li>
<li><p>Added <a class="reference internal" href="Columnar.html#variadic-buffers"><span class="std std-ref">Variadic buffers</span></a>.</p></li>
</ul>
</section>
</section>
</section>
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