Add-on Versioning

When creating a new version, you must specify whether it is a Major, Minor, or a Patch.

The following points explain when which version should be increased:

• MAJOR is incremented when incompatible version changes are released. Impact on the buyer: If a new major version is released, a buyer with an existing license can not use it (regardless of the upgrade right). Therefore, the buyer must re-purchase a license from this product to use the new major version.
• MINOR is increased when new functionality compatible with the previous version is released. Impact for the buyer: If no upgrade right was included or purchased, the same case occurs as with a major version. With an upgrade right, the user can use all minor versions of the activated major version. Example: The buyer activates a license for version 1.7.3. with upgrade right. The provider adds new features to the add-on and increases the version to 1.8.0. If the buyer’s license does not include an upgrade right, it would not be possible to use the version with the current license. However, with this right, all other Minor versions can be used to major version 1.
• PATCH is incremented if the changes include only version-compliant bug fixes. Impact on Buyer: Regardless of the upgrade right, patch versions (based on the enable Major.Minor version) can be used. Example: The buyer activates a license for version 1.7.1. The provider releases several bugfixes, increasing the version to 1.7.5. The buyer is now able to download this version in the installer and use it with the activated license.

The version number is written in each add-on version package and in each license. At runtime, it is then checked whether the activated license is compatible with the installed version of the add-on. The following results can be obtained with the method checkLicense:

If a license exists and can be used with the installed version, checkLicense returns OK. If no license is available NOK will be returned. If a license exists but can’t be used with the installed version, WRONG_VERSION is returned.

Subsequent upgrading: If the buyer wants to make his license of an add-on compatible for the current version after several years, there is the possibility to carry out a one-time upgrade. This upgrade must be purchased for a percentage of the add-on price at the time. Subsequently, the buyer can update the existing licenses.