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4.6.2 Change Request forms To ensure an appropriate and consistent way of presenting and documenting Change Requests, there exist standardized front covers (forms) for CRs as well as rules on how to accurately identify the modified parts of the specification. The purpose of the CR form itself is to provide the relevant management information of the proposed changes, e.g. such as:
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- Target specification with its version number (i.e. the original version to which CR is drafted), - Source of the CR, - Reason for the proposed change and consequences if not accepted, - Category of proposed change (i.e. correction, Change Request corresponding to an earlier release Change Request, addition of feature, functional modification of feature, or editorial modification),
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- Cross-phase compatibility aspects. A CR to a major version of a specification can fall into any of the categories quoted below. Table 4A: Categories of Change Requests Category Meaning Remarks A Corresponds to a change to an earlier Release Used to reflect functionally equivalent changes made to an earlier Release of the same Specification.
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Used to reflect functionally equivalent changes made to an earlier Release of the same Specification. NOTE: The proposed change to the later Release of the Specification need not be absolutely identical to the proposed change to the earlier Release, since it is possible that, due to earlier change requests, the affected text is not identical in each Release. Category A should be used when the functional objective of the proposed changes is equivalent in the earlier and later Releases. B
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B Addition or deletion of feature The new feature is to be added to the Release; the reference is not to the Specification itself. This will normally correspond to an identified Work Item. This category shall not be used for a frozen Release, except for alignment CRs as described in clause 4.7. C Functional modification of feature
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C Functional modification of feature Any functional modification shall correspond to an identified Work Item. However backward compatibility shall be ensured when the issue has an impact on the UE. This category shall not be used for a frozen Release, except for alignment CRs as described in clause 4.7. D Editorial modification
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D Editorial modification Editorial modifications shall have no impact on an implementation. An editorial modification CR to a frozen Release shall not be permitted. E (not used) F Correction Used:
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F Correction Used: 1 to correct an error in the specification (i.e. a clear instruction in the specification which leads to incorrect operation of the system); or 2 to correct an ambiguity in the specification which could lead to different implementations which cannot inter-operate; or 3 (void); or
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3 (void); or 4 to remedy the incorrect implementation of a previously approved CR; or 5 to correct a misalignment between the specifications (stage 1, stage 2 & stage 3) for a feature or service when not introducing a new function or functional change.
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Notwithstanding the provisions of table 4A, a TSG may approve a CR of category B or C to a frozen specification if it is the consensus of the meeting that such an exceptional action is justified; see clause 4.7.
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On successful reservation of a Change Request TDoc, the 3GPP portal will push the completed CR cover page to the user. This cover page has all the relevant metadata already filled in, thus eliminating transcription errors on the part of the author. It is strongly recommended that the author make use of this facility rather than filling in a blank CR cover from the stock template
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. Tips on how to complete the remaining fields of the CR form can be found at http://www.3gpp.org/specifications/change-requests/85-change-requests-step-by-step.
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For reference, the CR database is available from the 3GPP file server (http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Information/Databases/Change_Request/). Alternatively, the CRs for a given specification or from a given meeting can be consulted on the 3GU portal (https://portal.3gpp.org).
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When a CR is presented for approval, the classification into which it falls shall be identified. If this cannot be done then the CR shall be automatically rejected.
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The CR form bears a field to indicate the Release number to which the CR pertains. This field shall show the Release of the intended resulting specification – that is, the Release of the specification after implementation of the CR. The Release shown on the CR form is not related to the Release of the feature to which the change relates, but to the Release of the specification being changed. 4.6.3 Contents of Change Requests
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4.6.3 Contents of Change Requests Although the CR form shall indicate the details of change, each CR shall have attached the clauses of the specification that are affected by the CR, using the latest version of the major version. These clauses shall have the proposed modifications clearly marked, by means of the word processor's "revision mode".
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In case there are more than one independent CR to the same part of the specification, neither of them should contain the proposed modifications from the other(s), however any potential interaction between the modifications should of course be resolved before presentation.
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If the CR proposes changes to stage 3 specification files which are normatively documented in the 3GPP Forge repository according to clause 5C, then the proposed modifications shall be documented in the 3GPP Forge repository
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. In this case the cover page of the CR form shall contain a reference to a Forge Merge-Request clearly listing the proposed modifications in the "Other comments:" field, and excerpts of all affected stage 3 specification files clearly showing the proposed changes shall be appended to the cover page of the CR form.
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4.6.4 Handling of the Change Requests Entry to the TSG WG: A proposed CR should be brought to the relevant Group primarily responsible for the specification concerned and discussed there, before presentation to the TSG. Comments from secondarily responsible Groups (if any) shall have been sought and comments shall have been taken into account before presentation to the TSG for approval.
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To ease the work of the Group and of the Support Team , a proposed CR should be presented in a form suitable for TSG WG agreement and TSG approval. If a CR is not immediately accepted the originator shall update the CR taking into account comments and other guidelines from the relevant groups, including change of reference version if needed, and to re-present it to the Group. All CRs shall be presented in electronic form.
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All CRs shall be presented in electronic form. CR identification: During the course of its development, a CR may be modified, and the CR's progress shall be indicated by allocation of a revision number: rev. 1, 2, and so on. A given revision of a CR is uniquely defined by - the specification to which it belongs, and
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- the specification to which it belongs, and - the CR number (an alphanumeric string) and - the revision number (default, i.e. the value if no number is given, is '-', i.e. the original, unrevised, CR).
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A CR number shall be allocated by the 3GPP portal or the Support Team. For a given Specification, CR numbers shall be unique and shall never be reused (see clause 4.6.1). Numbers used for rejected CRs shall not be reused
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.1). Numbers used for rejected CRs shall not be reused. If a CR is rejected, and the responsible Group considers it useful to bring a modification of the CR to a subsequent TSG for approval, the new CR shall be allocated a new CR number. That is, it shall not be presented as a revision of the same CR number previously rejected.
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Impact on other specifications: If the content of the CR is such that, in isolation, it makes the whole set of approved Specifications inconsistent, corresponding CRs shall also be considered and produced. This should be carried out by the originators of the CR (and their colleagues in other Groups) in advance. The Support Team is co-responsible for identifying and communicating cross-TSG and cross-TSG-WG impacts.
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If a CR (or set of CRs) causes an inconsistency with an existing/approved test or O&M specification, the corresponding CRs should be presented together with the core specification CR in the same TSG cycle. Otherwise they may follow in a later TSG cycle. Handling of the CR in the TSG:
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Handling of the CR in the TSG: When the TSG WG has agreed to a CR and comments from secondarily responsible Groups (if any) have been taken into account, the Support Team shall ensure that it is correctly formatted and assembled, and shall submit the CR to the primarily responsible TSG for formal approval. The Support Team shall collate agreed CRs in CR packs.
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The Support Team shall collate agreed CRs in CR packs. The Support Team shall make available to the TSG summary lists of all CRs presented for decision. This list shall be updated to show the decision reached for each and every CR. Decisions on CRs, and results: The TSG shall consider and conclude on each CR independently; the verdict on each CR shall be one of the values listed in clause 9.2
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Table 5: (void) Control and notification of CR decisions:
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At the end of each TSG meeting, the Support Team shall issue lists containing the detailed result of the CRs presented at the meeting, including information about the consequential new version numbers of the concerned specifications. These lists shall form an annex to the meeting report (and hence are part of a permanent document)
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. These lists, being the evidence of which specifications have changed and how, are important management tools for both TSG delegates and the Support Team since it takes some time before the new versions of the specifications can be compiled and released.
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4.6.5 Updating and release of new versions of the specifications If there is at least one Approved CR to a given specification, a new version number of the specification shall be allocated (see clause 4.2.3), and the Support Team shall produce and issue a new version of the specification. 4.6.6 Other changes to specifications
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4.6.6 Other changes to specifications The Support Team may update a specification to correct purely editorial deficiencies brought to its attention. In this case, only the "editorial" field (third digit) of the version number shall be incremented. Such changes should be avoided if possible: normally, they should be held over for inclusion next time a technical change is made to the specification.
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All such changes shall be clearly explained in the "change history" annex of the specification. 4.7 "Freezing" of specifications A TSG may decide that a specification is sufficiently stable that it may be considered "frozen". That is, only CRs for essential corrections of errors shall be considered except as discussed below (see clause 4.6.2 and in particular the derogation statement below table 4A).
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(At the same time, a new major version may be developed for inclusion of new features).
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Normally, all specifications of a Release will be frozen when the TSGs decide that the functionality of the Release is stable – i.e that all new features to be included in the Release have been defined and that all new or modified functionality required to implement those features has been incorporated into the specifications. At this point, the Release as a whole shall be declared to be "frozen", and its constituent specifications shall likewise be "frozen".
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A CR of category B or C (and any associated category A mirrors) to a frozen version of a specification (in a given Release) shall only be an alignment of the specification with the agreed functionality of the Release as provided for in other specifications of that Release, or for internal consistency of an individual specification. Such a CR may add to, remove from, or modify the functionality of a frozen specification to ensure a consistent specification set across a particular Release.
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Correction CRs (category F and any associated category A mirrors) to a frozen version of a specification (in a given Release) shall fit into one of the following classifications: - A CR to introduce an essential correction, i.e. where a frequently occurring case is not handled properly because there is some error or significant ambiguity in the specification.
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NOTE: The above category are sometimes referred to as "FASMO" CRs: "Frequent And Serious MisOperation". - A CR to remedy the incorrect implementation of a previously approved CR (of any category). 4.8 "Closing" of specifications
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4.8 "Closing" of specifications A TSG may decide that a specification will no longer be maintained. That is, no further Change Requests should be considered. The specification remains available, but no further Change Requests should be produced, even corrective ones to align with the equivalent specification of a subsequent Release. (At the same time, higher major versions of the specification may be under development.)
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(At the same time, higher major versions of the specification may be under development.) 4.9 "Withdrawing" of specifications A TSG may decide to withdraw a specification which is obsolete if its remaining available would confuse implementors (for example, if it contained provisions which were contradictory to provisions of other, later, specifications).
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Before withdrawing a specification, the TSG shall ensure that no references are made to it from any other 3GPP specification (and raise appropriate Change Requests to eliminate any such references discovered). A TSG shall use the procedure in clause 4.9B to withdraw specifications and functionality. 4.9A "Withdrawing" of functionality A TSG may decide to withdraw functionality.
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A TSG may decide to withdraw functionality. Before withdrawing functionality, the TSG shall: - raise Change Requests to eliminate any references made to this functionality from any 3GPP specifications; and - move text within specifications which were created for the functionality, that is applicable to other functionality as well, to other appropriate specifications. 4.9B Procedure for withdrawing of specifications and functionality
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4.9B Procedure for withdrawing of specifications and functionality 4.9B.1 (void) 4.9B.2 Diligent assessment The decision whether to withdraw (a) specification(s) or whether to remove functionality from within specifications shall only be taken once thorough consideration has been given to the implications and applicability of the action.
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The withdrawing of a specification or functionality shall be explictly identified as one of the objectives of a work item. The withdrawing of a specification or functionality may be documented in: a) a work item that defines new functionality that will obsolete the specification or functionality; or b) documented in a work item that is solely for the purpose of withdrawing.
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b) documented in a work item that is solely for the purpose of withdrawing. Technical Enhancements and Improvement (TEI) and other similar general purpose enhancement work items shall not be used for the withdrawing of a specification or functionality.
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The assessment of whether to withdraw functionality may extend beyond 3GPP TSGs and their working groups. A notice shall be placed on the 3GPP site to solicit comments from other concerned parties and shall clearly indicate which specifications and functionality are considered for withdrawal, including which versions of the specification would be affected, the date at which a decision will be taken and the responsible TSG to which third parties may send related Liaison Statements or other correspondence.
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A study item may contain, as one of its objectives and/or its conclusions, consideration of whether existing functionality should be withdrawn and the identification of the impact of the withdrawing of functionality or specifications. 4.9B.3 Changes to affected specifications Removal of functionality shall be done using the normal change request procedure (see sub-clause 4.6).
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4.9B.4 Considerations for ongoing maintenance, enhancement and new Release versions of specifications When a specific version or all versions in a specific Release of a specification, are withdrawn further versions of the specification in the same Release shall not be created and the specification shall not be promoted to a subsequent Release. Evolution of specifications and functionality in Releases unaffected by the withdrawal are allowed.
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Evolution of specifications and functionality in Releases unaffected by the withdrawal are allowed. A Category B or Category C CR that adds to or modifies a specification or functionality that has been withdrawn in a subsequent version shall clearly state on the CR cover sheet in the Summary of change that the subsequent version of the specification or functionality has been withdrawn. Category A CRs for Releases in which the specification or functionality has been withdrawn shall not be produced.
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4.10 Release control 4.10.1 Creation of a new Release version of a specification 4.10.1.0 General The concept of Releases was introduced in clause 4.0B. A given specification may simultaneously exist in several versions, each corresponding to a different Release.
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In principle, a Release of the specification can be identified as consisting of all those specifications with a "major" version field of a given value. 4.10.1.1 With no technical changes compared to the previous Release
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A given Release consists of a set of specifications having a common "major" version field; therefore, for the set of specifications to be complete, a new specification needs to be produced even if its provisions are identical with those of the previous Release's version
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. The creation of such a specification shall be delayed until the latest possible moment - that is, until the TSG is on the point of declaring a given Release to be complete, having determined that no technical changes are needed in the specification compared with the previous Release.
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The creation of the new version under these circumstances shall be via the responsible TSG's taking a decision to upgrade to the next Release of the specification. This implies that all Groups need to conduct a rigorous review of all specifications for which they are responsible to determine which are to be propagated to the next Release and which are not. 4.10.1.2 When introducing technical changes
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A new version of a specification, corresponding to a new Release, shall be prepared when a technical change needs to be introduced to satisfy a requirement of a feature of that new Release. This shall be accomplished by the raising of a Change Request (see clause 4.6) in the usual way, with the version number of the resulting specification indicating the new Release
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. The CR shall bear the identity of the new Release (rather than the starting point Release – see clause 4.6.2).
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4.10.1.3 Specifications not propagated to next Release Specifications which are not propagated from Release N-1 to Release N in one of the above two methods shall be deemed not to form part of Release N. Under these circumstances, the responsible Group shall undertake a review of all other specifications of Release N to eliminate references to the specification concerned. 4.10.2 Mirror Change Requests
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4.10.2 Mirror Change Requests When a Group produces a Change Request changing an early Release of a specification, it shall check whether the same change also needs to be made to later Releases of the specification. Changes which are corrective or clarifying in nature will generally be applicable to such other versions.
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Where it is determined that several Releases are affected, an (independently numbered) Change Request shall be created for each such affected version of the specification. Such CRs are termed "mirror Change Requests". The principal CR and its related mirror CRs should be grouped together for the purpose of presentation to the TSG (unless some other grouping is more logical).
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The TSG shall approve (or postpone or reject) a CR to a given Release together with the corresponding mirror CRs to later Releases. This will provide consistency between Releases. See also subclause 4.6.2. 4.10.3 Release mechanisms It is important that the 3GPP release structure provides a sound basis for implementations and equipment interoperation. Key principles important to ensure this are:
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- A Release shall consist of a well-defined, stable and internally consistent set of functions. - A Release shall be documented in a maintained, consistent stream of specifications. - Essential corrections to a stable or frozen release shall be included in the applicable Release. - New or changed functionality shall be included in a new (rather than retrospectively in an old) Release.
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These principles will ensure successful interoperability (roaming) amongst different instantiations of 3GPP systems. 4.10.3.1 Corrections to Releases
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4.10.3.1 Corrections to Releases Each release should be consistent and implementable to ensure interworking. This implies that essential corrections become normative parts of the Release as soon as possible. If essential changes to "old" functionality are made to a new release, similar corresponding changes shall be made to correct the same error in the specifications pertaining to all previous, non-closed, Releases. This is illustrated in figure A.
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4.10.3.2 New features New functionality shall be included in the latest, non-frozen, Release. New functionality shall not be included in previous, frozen, Releases. To do so would cause incompatibility amongst instantiations of those Releases. This is illustrated in figure A. CR category (see table 4A) Release 1999 Release 4
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Release 1999 Release 4 v3.0.0 C v3.1.0 C v3.2.0 C
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C v3.4.0 C v3.5.0 B v4.0.0
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v4.0.0 F A v3.6.0 v4.1.0 C v4.2.0 C
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v4.2.0 C v4.3.0 F A 3.7.0 4.4.0
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3.7.0 4.4.0 Figure A: Introduction and development of new features to the latest Release; and corrections to multiple Releases (example) 4.10.3.3 Release naming GSM phase 2+ specifications were grouped into annual Releases from 1996 to 1999. The first 3rd generation specifications were grouped into an initial Release 1999.
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Subsequent Releases are not necessarily annual, and shall be referred to as Release 4, Release 5, etc., according to the major field of the version number (see table 4 and clause 4.3). 4.10.3.4 Introduction of features into Releases
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Development of the 3GPP system specifications shall be controlled by means of a work plan covering the inclusion of new features (functionality). Target dates for completion of Work Items (see clause 6) shall be estimated by the responsible Groups. Milestones may be defined to monitor the progress of Work Items
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. Milestones may be defined to monitor the progress of Work Items. Based on the estimated completion of the desired features, a target date for freezing of the specifications pertaining to the next Release can – and shall – be calculated. Feature development should be based around approximately annual Releases.
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Thus the work plan shall indicate (a) the estimated freeze date of forthcoming Releases and (b) the functional content of each such Release. The work plan shall show all projected work, regardless of Release; this will ease long term planning and the packaging of features into Releases. Completed Work Items shall be removed from the plan once the Release of which they form a part has been frozen.
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3GPP technical coordination should set target dates for the freezing of each individual stage (cf. clause 4.1) on all currently worked-upon Releases (i.e. non-frozen).. On freezing stage 2 of Release x, TSGs should propose a target freeze date for stages 1, 2 and 3 of Release x+1
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. It is possible that features of exceptional complexity may span more than one Release (eg new core network architecture, new radio interface).
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The freezing date for a particular stage of a Release should insofar as is possible be adhered to, even if, due to delays, it is not possible to include all the features originally intended. Features which cannot be completed in time should be held over to the next Release
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. Features which cannot be completed in time should be held over to the next Release. It will normally be the case that test specifications and O&M specifications will not necessarily be completed until some time after the base specifications; this shall not impede the freezing of the Release as a whole
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. However, if it becomes evident that, due to delays in a number of important features, a new Release would contain little new functionality, it may be preferable to delay the freezing of the stage of a Release to allow more of the originally intended features to be included.
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The project plan shall clearly show the progress of each Work Item. When all component Work Items of a feature have been completed, the TSG shall declare the feature to be frozen. The only further development permitted from that point onwards shall be: - the essential correction of errors; - the completion of the test and O&M specifications; and
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- the completion of the test and O&M specifications; and - unavoidable adjustments required to cater for interworking with other features in the same Release. See clause 6 for further information on Work Items. 4.10.3.5 Early implementation of features
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4.10.3.5 Early implementation of features 3GPP may identify certain features as being suitable for "early implementation". The selection of "early implementation" features shall be performed at the TSG level. Additional documentation is provided for early implementation features (see clause 6.4.4).
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Additional documentation is provided for early implementation features (see clause 6.4.4). All documentation for early implementation features is contained in the Release where the feature is introduced. The status or specification of older Releases shall not be changed by the introduction of early implementation features. 5 Availability and distribution of specifications 5.1 General
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5 Availability and distribution of specifications 5.1 General The Support Team shall make all approved versions of all specifications available as soon as possible after their approval (or after approval of CRs thereto) on a file server. The server shall allow anonymous access by any interested party.
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The Support Team should also endeavour to make earlier drafts available on the server, even prior to approval, i.e. versions 0.y.z, 1.y.z and 2.y.z.
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Such "availability" does not constitute formal "publication". Under the terms of the 3GPP partnership agreement, the Organizational Partners which are Standards Development Organizations will publish TSG-approved specifications in the form of their own standards. The modalities of such publication processes are specific to those individual Organizations and are beyond the scope of the present document.
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The directory structure shall differentiate amongst approved and draft specifications, amongst versions of specifications approved at specific TSG meetings, amongst versions of specifications pertaining to different Releases, and between specifications relating to 2nd generation (GSM) only and 3rd generation (UMTS) systems.
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A clear and unambiguous directory structure shall be adopted, and a guide to that structure provided on the server. A "status list" shall also be provided, showing the latest version of each Release of each specification. 5.2 Choice of availability and distribution of stage 3 specification files
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For the availability and distribution of stage 3 specification files (e.g. OpenAPI specification, YANG, ASN.1, XSD, etc.) there are two optional alternatives, described in clauses 5B and 5C, and the principle of how the two alternatives are chosen is decided by the responsible Working Group. Clause 5C applies only for the choice when normative code parts of the stage 3 specification are normatively stored in the 3GPP Forge repository.
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5A File naming conventions Specifications shall be maintained in the form of computer-based files. The file name shall be of the form aabbb-xyz.eee where: aa and bbb have the same significance as in the specification number (see tables 1 and 2);
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x, y and z have the same significance as in the version number (see table 6); eee is the de facto standard filename extension corresponding to the software tool used to create the file (normally "doc" for Microsoft Word ®). For multi-part specifications, the filename shall be extended to aabbb-n-xyz.eee Where:
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aabbb-n-xyz.eee Where: n is the part number (see tables 6 and 6A).
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n is the part number (see tables 6 and 6A). To save storage space and to speed up uploading and downloading, source files shall be saved compressed in industry standard "Zip" ® format. The filename of the zipped file shall be the same as that of the contained source file, and it shall bear the file extension ".zip".
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If a specification consists of multiple source files - for example, when a very long document is divided into several smaller files for ease of editing and manipulation - , each file should be named with the above convention, but appending a file identifier in the form: aabbb-xyz(m).eee where: m is the file number using characters from table 6 or 6A.
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Where a specification has accompanying files - e.g. ASN.1 coding, C programming language code, TTCN test sequences, etc. - it may not be convenient or possible to abide by the last-mentioned rule. Under these circumstances, the associated files shall be contained in a separate zip file, which shall itself abide by the multiple-source-file rule
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. A "readme" text file should be included in that zip file to explain the nature of each other file.
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EXAMPLE 1: 29341-420.zip is the compressed file of specification 29.341 version 4.2.0. EXAMPLE 2: 31811-m-6g2.doc is the source file of specification 31.811 part 22 version 6.16.2.
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EXAMPLE 3: 22354-480(1).doc and 22354-480(2).doc are the two files which make up specification 22.354 version 4.8.0 (and which will both be compressed into file 22354-480.zip).
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EXAMPLE 4: 34101-300(1).doc and 34101-300(2).zip are the source text file and the compressed set of TTCN files respectively which together comprise 34.101 version 3.0.0.
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