Editing Software release life cycle (section)

=== End-of-life {{Anchor|EOL|End of life}} ===
{{See also|End-of-life product|Abandonware}}

When software is no longer sold or supported, the product is said to have reached end-of-life, to be discontinued, retired, deprecated, abandoned, or obsolete, but user loyalty may continue its existence for some time, even long after its platform is obsolete—e.g., the [[Common Desktop Environment]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=[cdesktopenv-devel] CDE 2.2.1 released {{!}} CDE - Common Desktop Environment |url=https://sourceforge.net/p/cdesktopenv/mailman/message/32043063/ |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=sourceforge.net}}</ref> and Sinclair [[ZX Spectrum]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-05 |title=ZX-Uno [ZX Spectrum Computer Clone Based on FPGA] |url=http://zxuno.speccy.org/index_e.shtml |access-date=2024-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105191835/http://zxuno.speccy.org/index_e.shtml |archive-date=5 January 2018 }}</ref>

After the end-of-life date, the developer will usually not implement any new features, fix existing defects, bugs, or vulnerabilities (whether known before that date or not), or provide any support for the product. If the developer wishes, they may release the source code, so that the platform may be maintained by volunteers.