Situation

In issue #229, we decided to deprecate module level functions, but we haven't discussed the details for our upcoming semver 3 release.

Proposal

When semver 3 is released, remove the following module level functions:

• semver.compare(?) see Consider keeping compare module level function #258
• semver.parse
• semver.parse_version_info
• semver.format_version
• semver.bump_{major,minor,patch,prerelease,build}
• semver.finalize_version
• semver.match
• semver.max_ver
• semver.min_ver
• semver.replace
• semver.VersionInfo._asdict
• semver.VersionInfo._astuple

Suggested Removal Plan

As our deprecation procedure is almost finishd, I would suggest a plan for the upcoming future:

1. Release 2.10.0 to get DeprecationWarnings and the updated documentation. Done. ✔️
2. Maybe release further versions in the 2.10.x line if necessary (for other issues) Done. ✔️
3. Prepare semver 3 line soon and remove deprecated functions in the communicated version. ✔️

Questions

@python-semver/reviewers I think we need to clarify some questions to lay down our removal plan:

1. Should we start with the semver 3 release after 2.10.0 is published?

   IMHO, we should soon start with working on semver 3. Issues for semver 3 are piling up. I also think, focusing on one Python version (version 3 in this case) helps to make it easier to develop. That means, we can leave Python 2 behind.

2. Would it be a good idea to keep the deprecated functions for 3.0.0, but remove them in, lets say, version 3.1.0?

   This makes the move a bit smoother as not all deprecated function will vanish all of a sudden when updating to 3.0.0.

3. Anything else you would like to see it addressed?

Thank for your feedback. 👍

Update: Due to #236, extended the list of deprecated functions with semver.compare(?), semver.match, semver.max_ver, and semver.min_ver. Also mention 2.10.0 and not 2.9.2.