Summary

  • 2 minutes

This module explained versioning strategies for packaging, best practices for versioning, and package promotion workflows. You learned essential concepts for managing package versions throughout the software development lifecycle.

What you learned

You learned how to describe the benefits and usage of:

Implementing a versioning strategy

  • Version importance: Recognize why proper versioning is critical for dependency management and software stability.
  • Immutable packages: Understand that published packages cannot be changed; only new versions can be released.
  • Version types: Understand major, minor, and patch version increments and when to use each.
  • Package-specific versioning: Implement versioning for different package types (NuGet, npm, Maven, Python, Universal Packages).

Understanding semantic versioning

  • SemVer 2.0 format: Apply Major.Minor.Patch versioning for consistent communication.
  • Breaking changes: Use major versions to signal incompatible API changes.
  • New features: Use minor versions for backward-compatible additions.
  • Bug fixes: Use patch versions for backward-compatible fixes.
  • Prerelease labels: Use labels (alpha, beta, rc) to indicate prerelease quality.
  • Version precedence: Understand how versions are compared and ordered.

Using Azure Artifacts views

  • Three default views: Leverage @Local, @Prerelease, and @Release views.
  • @Local view: Contains all packages including those from upstream sources.
  • @Prerelease view: Filters to packages with prerelease labels.
  • @Release view: Shows only production-ready packages.
  • View-specific URIs: Configure package consumers to use specific views.
  • Custom views: Create additional views for finer-grained quality levels.

Promoting packages

  • Quality gates: Use promotion to move packages through quality levels.
  • Promotion workflow: Implement @Local → @Prerelease → @Release progression.
  • Automated promotion: Use Azure Pipelines tasks to automate promotion based on test results.
  • Manual promotion: Apply manual approval gates for critical packages.
  • Retention protection: Understand that promoted packages are protected from deletion.
  • Upstream packages: Manage promotion of cached upstream packages.

Pushing packages from pipelines

  • Automated publishing: Configure build pipelines to automatically publish packages to feeds.
  • Version generation: Implement automated version number generation in CI/CD.
  • Package metadata: Include comprehensive metadata in packages.
  • Source tagging: Tag source code with package versions for traceability.

Applying best practices

  • Documented strategy: Maintain written versioning strategy documentation.
  • SemVer adoption: Standardize on Semantic Versioning 2.0.
  • Single feed per repo: Configure each repository to reference only one feed.
  • Automated publishing: Publish packages automatically on creation.
  • Test before promote: Always test packages before promoting to higher views.
  • Team alignment: Integrate versioning into Definition of Done.

Key concepts summary

Version immutability

  • Never change published versions: Published packages are immutable.
  • Always create new versions: Any change requires a new version number.
  • Trust and reliability: Consumers trust that versions don't change.

Semantic versioning principles

  • Major.Minor.Patch: Three-part version number.
  • Clear communication: Version number indicates scope of changes.
  • Backward compatibility: Minor and patch maintain compatibility.
  • Prerelease labels: Indicate quality level with labels.

Azure Artifacts views

  • Quality indicators: Views separate packages by quality level.
  • Promotion workflow: Explicit promotion moves packages through views.
  • Consumer choice: Consumers select view based on risk tolerance.
  • Retention protection: Promoted packages protected from deletion.

Automation benefits

  • Consistency: Automated processes reduce human error.
  • Speed: Faster release cycles with automation.
  • Quality gates: Automated testing before promotion.
  • Traceability: Every build produces trackable artifact.

Next steps

Continue learning

Enhance your versioning skills:

  • Advanced promotion workflows: Implement multi-stage promotion with approval gates.
  • Version range management: Understand dependency version ranges and constraints.
  • Branching strategies: Align versioning with branching strategies (Gitflow, trunk-based).
  • Hotfix versioning: Handle hotfixes and backports correctly.

Explore advanced scenarios:

  • Monorepo versioning: Version packages in monorepo repositories.
  • Breaking change management: Strategies for deprecating and removing features.
  • Version pinning: Control when consumers adopt new versions.
  • Changelog automation: Generate changelogs automatically from commits.

Practical application

Start implementing:

  1. Document your strategy: Write versioning guidelines for your team.
  2. Adopt SemVer 2.0: Standardize on Semantic Versioning.
  3. Configure feeds and views: Set up @Local, @Prerelease, and @Release views.
  4. Automate versioning: Implement automated version generation in build pipelines.
  5. Set up promotion workflows: Define and automate package promotion.
  6. Train your team: Ensure everyone understands and follows versioning strategy.

Integration with DevOps practices

Versioning in DevOps workflows:

  • Continuous Integration: Automate package building and publishing.
  • Continuous Delivery: Use promotion workflows for controlled releases.
  • Infrastructure as Code: Version infrastructure packages alongside application packages.
  • Feature flags: Combine versioning with feature flags for gradual rollouts.

Learn more

Official documentation

Additional resources

Package type-specific guides

Tools and automation

Community and support

  • Azure DevOps Documentation: Explore comprehensive guides and tutorials.
  • Microsoft Q&A: Ask questions and get answers from the community.
  • Azure DevOps Blog: Stay updated with latest features and best practices.
  • GitHub samples: Explore example pipelines and configurations.