Understanding Semantic Versioning: A Guide for Software Developers
A comprehensive explanation of how Semantic Versioning helps track and maintain software project evolution.
Table of contents
Introduction
Semantic Versioning (SemVer) is a widely used system of versioning software that provides a meaningful and standardized way of communicating changes between releases. This allows developers to understand the impact of changes made to a software project, making it easier to track and maintain a project's evolution. In this blog, we'll go over the basics of Semantic Versioning and how it's used in software development.
Semantic Versioning consists of three components:
Major version: A whole number that is incremented when a software project undergoes significant changes that are not backwards compatible.
Minor version: A whole number that is incremented when a software project introduces new functionality in a backwards-compatible manner.
Patch version: A whole number that is incremented when a software project makes small, backwards-compatible bug fixes.
Semantic Versioning specifies that version numbers must be formatted as MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, for example, 2.0.1. The idea behind SemVer is that you can use the version number to understand the nature and severity of the changes made between releases.
Example
Let's consider an example to understand the importance of Semantic Versioning. Suppose you're using a library in your project, and the library's latest version is 1.0.0. If the library maintainer releases a new version of the library, 1.1.0, you know that new features have been added, but the existing features should still work as they did before. However, if the library maintainer releases a new version, 2.0.0, you know that there have been significant changes made to the library, and you'll need to carefully review the changes to make sure they don't break your code.
In addition to the three components, Semantic Versioning also specifies a set of guidelines for how version numbers should be incremented. For example, once a version has been released, its major, minor, and patch components must never decrease. Also, a project cannot jump from version 1.9.9 to version 3.0.0. The next version must be 2.0.0, then 2.1.0, 2.1.1, and so on.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Semantic Versioning provides a simple and straightforward way of communicating changes between software releases, making it easier for developers to track and maintain a project's evolution. By following the guidelines of Semantic Versioning, developers can ensure that their projects are versioned in a consistent and meaningful manner, making it easier to understand the impact of changes and avoid compatibility issues.