update the README to state the new versioning mechanism of client-go;

add CHNAGELOG.md

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# v1.5.0
+
+## Changelog since v1.4.0
+
+### Added
+* Include the auth plugin (https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/33334)
+* Add timeout field to RESTClient config (https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/33958)

README.md

@@ -2,6 +2,20 @@
 
 Go clients for talking to a [kubernetes](http://kubernetes.io/) cluster.
 
+## Table of Contents
+ 
+- [What's included](#whats-included)
+- [Versioning](#versioning)
+  - [Compatibility: your code <-> client-go](#compatibility-your-code---client-go)
+  - [Compatibility: client-go <-> Kubernetes clusters](#compatibility-client-go---kubernetes-clusters)
+  - [Compatibility matrix](#compatibility-matrix)
+  - [Why do the 1.4 and 1.5 branch contain top-level folder named after the version?](#why-do-the-14-and-15-branch-contain-top-level-folder-named-after-the-version)
+- [How to get it](#how-to-get-it)
+- [How to use it](#how-to-use-it)
+- [Dependency management](#dependency-management)
+- [Reporting bugs](#reporting-bugs)
+- [Contributing code](#contributing-code)
+
 ### What's included
 
 * The `kubernetes` package contains the clientset to access Kubernetes API.
@@ -10,15 +24,42 @@ Go clients for talking to a [kubernetes](http://kubernetes.io/) cluster.
 * The `transport` package is used to set up auth and start a connection.
 * The `tools/cache` package is useful for writing controllers.
 
-### Releases
+### Versioning
 
-Each top-level folder (e.g., 1.4) contains a release of clients and their dependencies.
+`client-go` version numbers are unrelated to Kubernetes version numbers. Please see the [compatibility matrix](#compatibility-matrix) for the compatible Kubernetes clusters.
 
-client-go has the same release cycle as the Kubernetes main repository. For example, in the 1.4 release cycle, the contents in `1.4/` folder are subjected to changes. Once 1.4 is released, new changes will go into the `1.5/` folder. We will make great efforts to not change the public interface of a version of the client once that version has been released. We may change the interface between versions. Old versions of the client will be retained for two release cycles.
+`client-go` follows [semver](http://semver.org/). We will not make backwards-incompatible changes without incrementing the major version number. A change is backwards-incompatible either if it *i)* changes the public interfaces of `client-go`, or *ii)* makes `client-go` incompatible with otherwise supported versions of Kubernetes clusters.
+
+We will create a new branch for each increment in the major version number or minor version number. We will create a new tag for each increment in the patch version number. See [semver](http://semver.org/) for definitions of major, minor, and patch.
+
+The master branch will track the head in the main Kubernetes repo and accumulating changes. We will make a new client-go major/minor/patch version when:
+* A new major (very rare) or a new minor version is released in the Kubernetes main repository.
+* A feature or a bug fix in the master branch is popular and users want it in a stable branch or with a stable tag. 
+
+#### Compatibility: your code <-> client-go
+
+`client-go` follows [semver](http://semver.org/), so until the major version of client-go gets increased, your code will compile and will continue to work with explicitly supported versions of Kubernetes clusters.
+
+#### Compatibility: client-go <-> Kubernetes clusters
+
+`client-go` versions will be backwards compatible with many Kubernetes clusters. As we increment `client-go` versions, we will note which Kubernetes versions we expect them to work with. 
+
+We do not back-port new Kubernetes features into older clients. If you need a new feature, you are expected to upgrade to the new client. You can check out the [CHANGELOG](./CHANGELOG.md) for notable changes.
+
+#### Compatibility matrix
+
+* **client-go/1.4** is compatible with Kubernetes 1.3 through 1.5; it includes all features provided by Kubernetes 1.4.
+* **client-go/1.5** is compatible with Kubernetes 1.3 through 1.5; it includes all features provided by Kubernetes 1.4.
+
+#### Why do the 1.4 and 1.5 branch contain top-level folder named after the version?
+
+1.4 and 1.5 branch keep the top-level folders so they do not break the import lines of existing users. These top-level folders are deprecated and are removed from the master branch and future branches.
 
 ### How to get it
 
-You can `go get` to get a release of client-go, e.g., `go get k8s.io/client-go/1.4/...` or `go get k8s.io/client-go/1.4/kubernetes`.
+If you use `go get` to get client-go, **you will get the unstable master branch!** You can `git checkout` a stable branch.
+
+We recommend using a vendor tool, like [godep](https://github.com/tools/godep), [glide](https://github.com/Masterminds/glide), or [govendor](https://github.com/kardianos/govendor) to track a stable version of `client-go`.
 
 ### How to use it
 
@@ -27,7 +68,7 @@ If your application runs in a Pod in the cluster, please refer to the in-cluster
 ### Dependency management
 
 If your application depends on a package that client-go depends on, and you let the Go compiler find the dependency in `GOPATH`, you will end up with duplicated dependencies: one copy from the `GOPATH`, and one from the vendor folder of client-go. This will cause unexpected runtime error like flag redefinition, since the go compiler ends up importing both packages separately, even if they are exactly the same thing. If this happens, you can either
-* run `godep restore` ([godep](https://github.com/tools/godep)) in the client-go/1.4 folder, then remove the vendor folder of client-go. Then the packages in your GOPATH will be the only copy
+* run `godep restore` ([godep](https://github.com/tools/godep)) in the client-go/ folder, then remove the vendor folder of client-go. Then the packages in your GOPATH will be the only copy
 * or run `godep save` in your application folder to flatten all dependencies.
 
 ### Reporting bugs
@@ -35,4 +76,4 @@ If your application depends on a package that client-go depends on, and you let
 Please report bugs to the main Kubernetes [repository](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/new).
 
 ### Contributing code
-Please send pull requests against the client packages in the Kubernetes main [repository](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes), and run the `/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/copy.sh` script to update the staging area in the main repository. Changes in the staging area will be published to this repository every day.
+Please send pull requests against the client packages in the Kubernetes main [repository](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes), and run the `/staging/copy.sh` script to update the staging area in the main repository. Changes in the staging area will be published to this repository every day.