What is BHoM versioning?

BHoM versioning provides a system to correctly load a method or component stored in a script that has had its code changed.

Why is Versioning needed?

When you save a script that contains BHoM stuff, all of the BHoM components save information about themselves so they can initialise properly when the script is re-opened. This information is about things like the component/method name, its inputs and outputs types and names; the information is simply stored in a text (Json serialised).

If someone changes a BHoM method or object that was stored in a script, upon reopening of the script it will be impossible to reload that same method or object: the method initialisation will fail and the old component in the script will throw a warning or error, unable to work.

Versioning fixes this by updating the old json text before using it to find the method.

What does BHoM versioning support?

BHoM versioning supports the following changes:

• Changes to methods (e.g. saved in a script):

  • changes in the method name
  • changes in their input/outputs names and types.

• Changes to Namespaces:

  • renaming namespaces
  • general modification to namespaces

• Changes to classes (object types):

  • changes in class properties
  • changes in their name
  • complex structural changes

• Changes to Datasets:

  • renaming or moving of location
  • deletion

Ok, tell me how to do versioning for my changes! 🚀

To implement versioning when you do your changes, see Versioning guide.