Overview
SemVer provides a standardized way for developers to communicate the impact of a new release. It helps users of a library or API understand if an update is safe to apply or if it might break their code.
The Three Parts
- MAJOR: Incremented for incompatible API changes (breaking changes).
- MINOR: Incremented for adding functionality in a backwards-compatible manner.
- PATCH: Incremented for backwards-compatible bug fixes.
Importance
SemVer is the foundation of modern dependency management, allowing tools to automatically update libraries within safe boundaries (e.g., 'give me the latest minor version').