BackwardsCompatibilityStrategies Hub

APIs evolve. Consumers depend on them. Breaking changes are sometimes necessary; gratuitous breaking changes destroy trust. This cluster covers the patterns for evolving APIs while maintaining compatibility for as long as practical.

Foundations

• BackwardsCompatibilityStrategies — The full pattern catalog
• ApiDesignBestPractices — Designing for evolution from the start
• SemanticVersioning — Communicating compatibility via version numbers

Adjacent

• Web Services and APIs Hub — API design context
• ApiProtocolComparison — Different protocols, different evolution patterns
• Refactoring Strategies — Internal evolution patterns