Reference
SDK support
Every SDK version Pharen publishes moves through the same five stages, on dates set in advance and kept on one record. The platform enforces that record, and this page and its machine-readable copy are generated from it, so the dates you read here are the dates that apply.
The stages
| Stage | What it means | For your app |
|---|---|---|
| Current | The newest release of a maintained major version. | Nothing to do. |
| Supported | A newer version exists, and this one is inside its support window. | Plan the update at your own pace. |
| Deprecated | Its end of support is announced and dated. | Move to a newer version in your next release. |
| End of support | Closed to new development. | A debug build on this version is not served — a run from Xcode or Android Studio, or an iOS install signed with a development profile. Every other build — TestFlight, App Store, enterprise, ad hoc — keeps working until end of life. |
| End of life | No longer served. | Installed builds on this version stop recording and delete what they hold on the device. An app updated to a supported version is served from its first launch. |
The commitment
- A support window of 12 months. Once a newer version supersedes it, a version stays supported for at least 12 months before its end of support can fall.
- Notice before every end. End of support comes at least 90 days after it is announced, and end of life at least 180 days after its announcement. A date set fresh, or moved earlier, restarts its notice; a date moved later needs none.
- Critical fixes as a drop-in patch. While a version is supported or deprecated, critical fixes ship as a patch release of the same minor version, with no other changes, so taking the fix costs your app nothing.
- Versions end in order. Within a major version, a version reaches end of support or end of life no earlier than every lower version of the same major. Major versions are independent of each other.
- Major versions are maintained. The newest major version always is. When a new major version is released, the previous one stays maintained until its end is announced, at least 90 days ahead. While a major version is maintained, its versions upgrade to its own newest release.
Published versions
iOS
No iOS version has been published under this lifecycle yet.
Dates are UTC. A dash is a date that has not been set.
Where you meet these dates
- In a debug build's log. Once your SDK version is deprecated, or its end of life is announced, the SDK logs a notice that says so.
- In the iOS developer panel, in debug builds and tester builds from outside TestFlight: your SDK version's stage and dates, the version to upgrade to, and whether new development on it is still accepted.
- As data. The same record, for every platform, is at /sdk/lifecycle.json: the support window in months and the notice periods in days, and for each version its release date and each lifecycle date, or
nullwhere one is not set. It carries no stage, because a stage follows from the dates and the day you read them.