Governance
Jazz resolves conflicting claims in this order:
- curated public language and reference documentation;
- current compiler, standard-library, and test behavior as implementation evidence;
- accepted durable decision records; and
- roadmap material, which is non-normative.
Public documentation describes implemented behavior. Working but incomplete
behavior is Partial; future work is Planned and belongs on the roadmap.
Semantic language changes require a reviewed decision record before implementation. It records the decision, context, consequences, non-goals, and any compatibility or diagnostic effects. Acceptance alone does not make the behavior public; code, tests, and documentation must land together.
Non-semantic compiler refactors may proceed without a language decision when they preserve observable behavior. Changes to stable diagnostic codes, module visibility, runtime values, standard-library contracts, or accepted syntax are semantic and follow the full process.
Contributors should report documentation drift like a code defect. See the contribution guide.
Stewardship and review
Maintainers review and merge repository changes. At the project's current scale, an accepted RFC and its implementation pull request record a decision; there is no formal voting body or guaranteed release cadence. Substantial proposals begin in the issue tracker.
Maintainers may request changes, defer a proposal, or reject it when semantics are underspecified, compatibility costs are unjustified, verification is missing, or the work conflicts with an accepted decision. Durable decisions are superseded with a new RFC rather than silently rewritten.
Release publication is a separate explicit maintainer decision. Passing CI or preparing artifacts does not by itself publish or support a release.