SIP-052 — Interface Contract Evolution

Go to Annex C: Requirements

The architectural model SHALL define mechanisms governing the controlled evolution of versioned Interface Contracts.

Interface Contracts may change as structural definitions, semantic definitions, constraints, policies, and operational needs evolve. Uncontrolled changes can cause incompatible exchanges, ambiguous interpretation, and inconsistent behavior among participating systems.

Controlled evolution preserves the identity, authority, applicability, compatibility, and provenance of each Interface Contract version. It also allows multiple versions to coexist when immediate coordinated transition is impractical.

A conforming Submission demonstrates that:

1. Each Interface Contract has a stable identity
2. Each Interface Contract version is uniquely identifiable
3. The authority responsible for approving each version can be identified
4. Lifecycle states applicable to Interface Contracts are defined
5. Relationships among predecessor, successor, deprecated, and superseded versions are represented
6. Compatibility between Interface Contract versions can be stated
7. Effective dates or other applicability conditions can be represented
8. Changes between versions can be identified
9. Provenance and approval information can be preserved
10. Multiple versions can coexist when permitted by Governance
11. Transition or mapping information can be associated with applicable versions
12. Information exchanges can be traced to the Interface Contract version that governed them

SIP-009 requires Interface Contracts to be version controlled and to govern structured information exchange. SIP-052 defines the additional responsibility to govern how those versions are created, approved, related, applied, deprecated, and superseded.

This requirement does not prescribe a particular version-numbering scheme, registry, repository, or implementation technology.

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