Versions 0.x

[msdemlei]

The current text suggests that IWDs should carry versions starting with 0.something. I'd suggest there is virtually no benefit to that (and it's not been done much in the past 15 years). Let's just state that a document is born in version 1.0 and goes through IWD, WD, PR, and REC in that exact version. We may have a footnote that some early documents did not do that, which is why some of them have odd version strings.

[pdowler]

Is IWD even a thing that is ever used? Now, I feel something is a document somewhere and when it gains enough traction, it gets transferred to ivoa-std and is a WD.

Also, in cases where there is a community standard that gets adopted (handed over) to the IVOA process, the first version might be greater than 1.0 ... ADQL-2.0 comes to mind in the past (different reasons, but that was the first to get to REC), and WD-CAOM-2.5 currently.

[msdemlei]

On Mon, May 12, 2025 at 01:37:24PM -0700, Patrick Dowler wrote: pdowler left a comment (ivoa-std/DocStd#6) Is IWD even a thing that is ever used? Now, I feel something is a document somewhere and when it gains enough traction, it gets transferred to ivoa-std and is a WD.

I'd be ok with dropping the notion of IWD. Ivoatex, for one, doesn't support the notion at all. I guess it's a matter of finding some appropriate words, though: If you talk about a document before it's a WD, what do you say?

Also, in cases where there is a community standard that gets adopted (handed over) to the IVOA process, the first version might be greater than 1.0 ... ADQL-2.0 comes to mind in the past (different reasons, but that was the first to get to REC), and WD-CAOM-2.5 currently.

Well, there *was* and ADQL 1 which just never made it to REC. I don't think there's much need to somehow codify *that*. EPN-TAP, however, is another example of where a document was iterated quite a bit before it came to the IVOA process. Perhaps we should say "When the IVOA adopts external versioned standards, it is permissable to retain the external version"?

[pdowler]

Yes, "retain the external version number" sounds right/least confusing for everyone.