Because we are a visualization library, our primary output is the final

visualization the user sees; therefore, the appearance of the figure is part of

the API and any changes, either semantic or:ref:`aesthetic<color_changes>`,

are backwards-incompatible API changes.

..toctree::

the API and any changes, either semantic or aesthetic, are backwards-incompatible

API changes.

Add new API and features

Add or change colormaps, color sequences, and styles

Visual changes are considered an API break. Therefore, we generally do not modify

existing colormaps, color sequences, or styles.

We put a high bar on adding new colormaps and styles to prevent excessively growing

them. While the decision is case-by-case, evaluation criteria include:

- novelty: Does it support a new use case? e.g. slight variations of existing maps,

sequences and styles are likely not accepted.

- usability and accessibility: Are colors of sequences sufficiently distinct? Has

colorblindness been considered?

- evidence of wide spread usage: for example academic papers, industry blogs and

whitepapers, or inclusion in other visualization libraries or domain specific tools

- open license: colormaps, sequences, and styles must have a BSD compatible license

(see:ref:`license-discussion`)

.. _deprecation-guidelines:

Deprecate API