Add release policy

Author: dondonz

blog/2023-03-14-release-policy.md

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+---
+title: "GraphQL Java release policy"
+authors: donna
+slug: release-policy
+---
+
+We’re formalising our release schedule to give the community a better idea of when to expect releases, what will be contained within them, and when important fixes will be backported.
+
+## General release schedule
+Going forward, we plan to have 4 releases every year, one per quarter. We will alternate between releases containing breaking changes, and releases containing features and bugfixes (without breaking changes).
+
+For example: our next release 20.1 will be in early April 2023, and this will be a feature and bugfix release without breaking changes. Therefore, we’re going to retain Java 8 in the April release. Our subsequent release will be in early July 2023 and will contain breaking changes, including upgrading to Java 11.
+
+## Security backports
+We will backport critical bugfixes and security fixes for versions dating back 18 months (or roughly 6 versions). These fixes will be backported depending on severity and demand.
+
+## Bugfix backports
+We will backport important bug fixes at most 12 months (or roughly 4 versions). These fixes will be backported depending on the severity of the bug and demand.
+
+## Deprecations
+When code is deprecated, we will wait at least 12 months before removing it (or roughly 4 versions).
+
+## Version numbering
+We will continue to use `major.minor` version numbering.
+
+A minor version can include bug fixes and features, but not breaking changes. A major version can include breaking changes.
+
+## Allowing for policy changes
+The aim of this release policy to give the community a better indication of release dates, what is contained in releases, and when fixes will be backported. However, we may make a pragmatic decision to diverge from this policy when required. For example, a major and urgent breaking change could result in two breaking change releases in a row. If we diverge from this release policy, we’ll make it clear in the release notes.