Release/support roadmap in documentation

[arongergely]

Is your feature request related to a problem?

I can not find easily info on the release cycle, python versions support, when they would be dropped, etc.
It's handy to know e.g. how long would python 3.11 be supported by xarray.

Describe the solution you'd like

We could add a new page in the documentation, similar to Development roadmap, but targeting users.
Say, "Release Roadmap", with info on:

• release cycle
• when support (=releases) would cease for a given python version

I understand the release cycle isn't on strict schedule, but then we could mention that, or what the project is striving to achieve.

Describe alternatives you've considered

I have been looking around the project but did not find an overview. If I missed it, my apologies. Let me know :)

Additional context

Nowadays I work on hardening xarray-based workflows for production.
Some of the target systems are rigid.
When designing new systems, it is important to get the python version/env right the first time.
And for aging in-place systems, to plan the update wisely.

[arongergely]

Love the renewed web design and landing page by the way. Thanks to all contributors involved.

[arongergely]

We could add a new page in the documentation, similar to Development roadmap, but targeting users. Say, "Release Roadmap", with info on:

hm, or not a new page, but generalizing the "development roadmap" into just "Roadmap" and add said info to it.

[keewis]

Over the past two years we've been trying to release at least once a month. This didn't always work out exactly (there's no release in August this year, for example), but in general it's safe to say we try to release every 1-2 months.

The minimum versions policy is documented in the installation guidelines. I guess this is a bit difficult to read (so we might want to change/improve that), but what the time windows mean is that we can require a version as soon as it is older than N months.

python 3.11, for example, will be supported until python 3.12 is at least 30 months old, i.e. until at least April 2026 (python 3.12 has been released in Oct 2023). This means that we tend to support libraries a bit longer than SPEC-0 recommends.

[arongergely]

@keewis thank you for elaborating. I reckon i must not be the only one looking for this info, so it may be worth consolidating in the docs in one place.