[GH-ISSUE #135] Clarify pre-release version meaning #2801

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GiteaMirror · 2026-04-25T16:43:55-05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-25 16:43:55 -05:00

Originally created by @dkrikun on GitHub (Jul 8, 2013).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/semver/semver/issues/135

It is stated that:

A pre-release version indicates that the version is unstable and might not satisfy the intended compatibility requirements as denoted by its associated normal version

What does that exactly mean "might not satisfy"? In particular:

If there exist versions, say, 1.0.1, 2.0-alpha and 2.0, does that mean that the pre-release version is not necessarily backwards compatible w/ 1.0.1 nor does 2.0 is backwards compatible w/ 2.0?
If there exist 1.0.1 and 1.1.0-alpha, is the latter backwards compatible w/ the former?

Originally created by @dkrikun on GitHub (Jul 8, 2013). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/semver/semver/issues/135 It is stated that: > A pre-release version indicates that the version is unstable and might not satisfy the intended compatibility requirements as denoted by its associated normal version What does that exactly mean "might not satisfy"? In particular: - If there exist versions, say, `1.0.1`, `2.0-alpha` and `2.0`, does that mean that the pre-release version is not necessarily backwards compatible w/ `1.0.1` nor does `2.0` is backwards compatible w/ `2.0`? - If there exist `1.0.1` and `1.1.0-alpha`, is the latter backwards compatible w/ the former?

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-04-25 16:43:55 -05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-25 16:43:56 -05:00

@Tieske commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2013):

well, its like it says; the 'associated normal version' of 2.0-alpha is 2.0. So the intent is to comply with the rules as version 2.0 but because it is unstable (an alpha version), it's not yet proven that it actually honors those requirements.

Same for 1.1.0-alpha; it intents to be backwards compatible with 1.0.1, but as it is unstable, it might not be.

@Tieske commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2013): well, its like it says; the 'associated normal version' of `2.0-alpha` is `2.0`. So the intent is to comply with the rules as version `2.0` but because it is unstable (an alpha version), it's not yet proven that it actually honors those requirements. Same for `1.1.0-alpha`; it intents to be backwards compatible with `1.0.1`, but as it is unstable, it might not be.

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-25 16:43:57 -05:00

@dkrikun commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2013):

Thanks, that makes it clear

@dkrikun commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2013): Thanks, that makes it clear

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Reference: github-starred/semver#2801