A simpler, cleaner way to manage versions?

[philipkozeny]

I was thinking about how we could restructure our project to simplify our repository to make it easier to use and maintain.

The Problem: Our main branch currently holds the code for over 15 different versions. This makes it hard for new users to know which version to pick (even though we show the supported and deprecated versions in the main README.md file) and creates a lot of clutter and duplicated code. Also adding a new versions is sometimes a PITA with copying all the files, etc.

What do you think about adopting a more standard Git workflow?

1. master will only contain the latest stable version.
2. Versions will get their own release/ branch for long-term support when they are replaced.

---

How it Works: Before vs. After

Today (Before):
1 /
2 ├── 2.5/
3 ├── 3.0/
4 ├── ...
5 └── 5.1/

Proposed (After):
1 /
2 ├── Dockerfile <-- Files for the latest version (5.1 as of today)
3 ├── config.sh
4 └── ...

---

Possible Future Workflow (e.g.: when v5.2 is released)

1. We create a new branch called release/v5.1 from master. This branch is now available for any future security patches for 5.1.
2. The master branch is updated with the new v5.2 code.

I think that this process is cleaner and brings more clarity and simplicity, since its a widely-used Git strategy and probably most of our users just use the prebuild docker images anyway. We could make it clear in the README.md how to pick a specific version, but for building their own, this would be a nicer approach IMHO. In addition I also think it would make it easier for us to maintain that project. What are your thoughts (especially looking at @leonardehrenfried)?

[mtmail]

I'd remove all versions outside https://github.com/osm-search/Nominatim/blob/master/SECURITY.md

In the past Nominatim had issues processing some OSM data edge cases, for example osm-search/Nominatim#3445 and I'm not sure one could import a full planet with Nominatim 4.0

[leonardehrenfried]

I fully support this proposal as I always wondered why it was done this way (was like that before I started). I was always too lazy to explain and make the change myself, though.

+1 from me.