bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/appsource/release-must-update-app-version.md
Michael Dieringer 67962727f6 Fix ten focused correctness items plus sample links from Jesper's 2026-09-15 re-review
Six carried-over threads:
- api-page-least-privilege-write-access fixtures: added the mandatory
  EntityName/EntitySetName properties (AL0485).
- pages-must-not-contain-business-logic fixtures: Sales Line has no
  "Total Amount" field; replaced with the real "Line Amount" (field 103).
- test-feature-scenario-tags.good.al and test-one-when-per-test.good.al:
  CreatePriceHeader leaves a price list in Draft status, which price
  calculation ignores. Added Validate(Status, Active) + Modify before the
  sales line that depends on it. Verified Status field/enum against
  PriceListHeader.Table.al and PriceStatus.Enum.al in the BCApps clone.
- exposed-objects-must-be-in-a-permission-set.md: a published codeunit is
  a SOAP endpoint (SOAP is deprecated), not OData - Page/Query are the
  OData object types. Corrected and pointed new integrations at API
  pages/queries instead.
- al-error-handling-review.md: the log-writes-must-survive-rollback cue
  selected on Session.StartSession, which only appears in the compliant
  fix, never in the anti-pattern - the bad fixture could never be
  worklisted. Recued on the actual risk shape (log insert around a
  failed TryFunction/GetLastError* path, then raise/propagate), with
  StartSession as an explicit compliant discriminator instead.
- page-design-must-match-bc-page-type-conventions.md: the enum value is
  NavigatePage, not Navigate; noted the type list is a selected subset,
  not an exhaustive PageType catalogue (PromptDialog, ConfigurationDialog,
  UserControlHost, XmlPort also exist, out of this article's scope).

Four new correctness gaps:
- release-must-update-app-version.md: "the version is the only identity"
  was backwards - id is the app's stable identity, version identifies a
  release/code-state of it.
- defensive-vs-offensive-code-must-match-blast-radius.good.al: the "low
  blast radius" example had no else branch, so a failed Customer.Get()
  left the field at its prior/default value instead of the explicit
  chosen fallback the article claims to demonstrate. Added the else.
- bcpt-scenarios-must-be-app-specific.good.al: InitTest and both measured
  StartScenario/EndScenario sections were empty/comment-only, so the
  "app-specific" fixture measured no actual work. Filled in a real,
  self-contained header+line creation path.
- upgrade-tag-logic-must-not-nest-deeply.good.al: the flattened version
  dropped both safety conditions the bad fixture had (Discount % = 0,
  nonblank posting group), silently changing behavior instead of just
  removing nesting. Extracted the guarded update into a helper with both
  conditions preserved as early exits.

Also converted this PR's remaining plain-backtick "See sample:" sample
references (16 articles) to the READ-convention markdown-link form,
matching the fix already made on #156/#158.

Rebased onto upstream/main (conflicts in al-ui-review.md, al-style-review.md,
al-upgrade-review.md against merged upstream PRs - all additive, both
sides' worklist cues retained).
2026-09-21 22:44:17 +02:00

2 KiB

bc-version domain keywords technologies countries application-area
all
appsource
version
release
app-json
semver
al-go
appsource
al
w1
all

Update the app version at every release

Description

At every release — a branch merged to main, a tagged release build, or an AppSource submission — the app's version is consciously updated, not left to the pipeline alone.

Version part Owner When
Major Developer decision Breaking change (schema, API, removed objects)
Minor Developer decision Every release with new functionality
Build / Revision AL-Go pipeline Automatic — never hand-edited

The app's stable identity is its id in app.json; the version identifies which release — which code state — of that app is deployed. Two customer environments running "the same" version with different code is an undiagnosable support case. AppSource's actual requirement is strict full-version ordering — the complete version must be greater than the previously submitted version — which an AL-Go-generated build/revision increment can satisfy on its own; AppSource does not require major.minor itself to change. Treating major.minor as a deliberate, human-decided compatibility signal is still valuable practice — it is a statement about what changed that no pipeline can make on its own — just not a platform-enforced requirement.

Best Practice

Before the release merge:
  app.json:       "version": "1.3.0.0"    (new functionality -> minor bump, by team convention)
  AL-Go settings: "repoVersion": "1.3"     (where used)
Then: feature branch -> main via PR, tag, release.

"Feature branches never touch the version" and "every merge to main is a release" are workflow choices your team can adopt for compatibility clarity — not something AppSource itself requires.

Anti Pattern

Branch merged to main and released.
app.json still says "version": "1.2.0.0" -- same as the previous release.
Two different code states now share one version identity.