Interaction Versioning

(from an MnM discussion and decision during the Sept 2005 WGM)

Artifacts using traditional identifiers (SSDD_AAnnnnnnRRvv) are assigned versions under two circumstances:

1. When the artifact passes membership and is Semantically Backward Compatible with the previous version. If not semantically backward compatible, you *must* assign a new identifier, not a new version.
2. When dependents of the artifact have been assigned new versions, the parent of those dependent artifacts will be assigned a new version as part of the normative release.

Caveats:

• Assumption is that 'semantically backward compatible' means not necessarily schema-compatible, but doesn't allow for complete remodeling of content either.
• Non-semantically compatible changes in approach to Datatypes, RIM, Vocabulary and/or ITS could result in a mass version change to all artifacts.
• The version specified in the instance interactionId attribute must be the same as the interaction version published in the edition specified in the instance versionCode attribute.

Implication: The complete version of all message types, CMETs, Vocabulary, Datatypes and ITS is fully pre-coordinated in the version of the identifier combined with the Release version.