Concept / Term · Established
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH versioning
A version-number convention where major means breaking change, minor means compatible new functionality, and patch means compatible bug fix.
Field note
Semantic Versioning uses three numbers—MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH—to communicate the compatibility impact of a release. A major change may break existing users, a minor change adds compatible functionality and a patch fixes compatible defects.
The convention formalised a practice already common in software: making version numbers carry meaning rather than acting as arbitrary release labels.
Package managers and dependency policies use the three numbers to decide which upgrades can be accepted automatically and which need deliberate testing.
A predictable version contract lets teams upgrade dependencies with less guesswork and makes breaking changes visible before installation.
In a sentence“The fix is backwards-compatible, so the library moves from 4.2.1 to 4.2.2.”