====== PHP RFC: Policy release process update ======
  * Version: 0.1
  * Date: 2025-05-09
  * Author: Jakub Zelenka, bukka@php.net
  * Status: Under Discussion

===== Introduction =====

This is a policy RFC that tries to match the current policy with the process that we currently have and also clarify few details.

===== Proposal =====

The policy change is composed of following items

    * Definition of backward compatibility (BC) and noting few cases that are not considered a BC break
    * Clarifying that an RFC can allow a backward compatibility (BC) break in a minor version — this already occurs in practice
    * Introducing a special exception for breaking ABI in a patch release in the case of a HIGH severity security issue.
    * Allowing build compatibility fixes in security releases.
    * Allowing regression fixes in exceptional cases during the fourth year of support.
    * Improving feature selection wording.
    * Explicitly allowing features to be merged without an RFC if there are no objections or RFC requests from core developers. This does not apply to user-facing engine changes (including syntax changes).

===== Proposed Voting Choices =====

Yes / No vote requiring 2/3 Yes votes to pass.

===== Policy pull request =====

    * https://github.com/php/policies/pull/19

===== References =====
Links to external references, discussions or RFCs

===== Rejected Features =====
Keep this updated with features that were discussed on the mail lists.