Instructions for maintaining courses and reacting to A+ version upgrades

[markkuriekkinen]

How to maintain an A+ course over the years? What are the regular maintenance tasks such as updating tools or frameworks inside course repos?

Add instructions that cover these questions:

• When and how to update the a-plus-rst-tools git submodule in the course repo? Once a year or after each A+ version update or what? How is the git submodule updated?
  • Check old instructions in the a-plus-rst-tools README.
• What about Sphinx versions? Should courses update it?
  • They should update it if the used a-plus-rst-tools version requires it.
  • The Sphinx version is defined in the course apps.meta file, field build_image.
  • The Sphinx version in local testing is defined in the docker-compile.sh file in the image used in the docker run command.
• Anything else to update? Any tools or libraries that courses should update concerning A+ version changes?
  • The docker-compose.yml file in the course repo: only used in local testing, but any way, updating the A+ container image versions is smart so that they match the current production version.
• Any important notes about maintaining courses?

A+ version upgrades and release notes. What should courses do?

• How to react to changes in A+ version updates? Any general advice?
  • Course staff should read the release notes and pay attention to changes in features that the course is dependent on.
• Where are the release notes? Provide links.
  • In the A+ recent versions, the release notes have aimed at providing sufficient information about the new changes and how they affect courses.