Semantic Versioning specification

E183286

software versioning scheme technical specification

The Semantic Versioning specification is a widely adopted versioning scheme for software that defines clear rules for incrementing version numbers based on backward-incompatible changes, new features, and bug fixes.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
Semantic Versioning	4
SemVer	1
Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 specification	1
Semantic Versioning specification canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1611096 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Semantic Versioning specification
Context triple: [Tom Preston-Werner, created, Semantic Versioning specification]

A. RFC 6020
RFC 6020 is the IETF specification that defines the YANG data modeling language used for network configuration and management protocols such as NETCONF.
B. RFC 9110
RFC 9110 is an IETF specification that defines the core semantics and architecture of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
C. RFC 6557
RFC 6557 is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) document that defines procedures and guidelines for the maintenance and distribution of the IANA time zone database.
D. Unicode Core Specification
The Unicode Core Specification is the primary technical standard that defines the Unicode character set, its encoding model, and the fundamental rules for representing and processing text in modern computing systems.
E. RFC 3339
RFC 3339 is an Internet standard that defines a simplified, unambiguous date and time format commonly used in internet protocols and data interchange.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Semantic Versioning specification
Target entity description: The Semantic Versioning specification is a widely adopted versioning scheme for software that defines clear rules for incrementing version numbers based on backward-incompatible changes, new features, and bug fixes.

A. RFC 6020
RFC 6020 is the IETF specification that defines the YANG data modeling language used for network configuration and management protocols such as NETCONF.
B. RFC 9110
RFC 9110 is an IETF specification that defines the core semantics and architecture of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
C. RFC 6557
RFC 6557 is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) document that defines procedures and guidelines for the maintenance and distribution of the IANA time zone database.
D. Unicode Core Specification
The Unicode Core Specification is the primary technical standard that defines the Unicode character set, its encoding model, and the fundamental rules for representing and processing text in modern computing systems.
E. RFC 3339
RFC 3339 is an Internet standard that defines a simplified, unambiguous date and time format commonly used in internet protocols and data interchange.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	software versioning scheme ⓘ technical specification ⓘ
allows	alphanumeric pre-release identifiers separated by dots ⓘ build metadata appended with plus sign ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	SemVer ⓘ linked to: Semantic Versioning specification Semantic Versioning ⓘ linked to: Semantic Versioning specification
appliesTo	software applications ⓘ software libraries ⓘ software packages ⓘ
assumes	higher version numbers represent newer releases ⓘ version numbers are ordered ⓘ
defines	meaning of MAJOR version number ⓘ meaning of MINOR version number ⓘ meaning of PATCH version number ⓘ rules for assigning version numbers to software ⓘ rules for build metadata ⓘ rules for incrementing version numbers ⓘ rules for pre-release versions ⓘ
distinguishes	pre-release versions from normal releases ⓘ
encourages	clear communication between maintainers and users ⓘ predictable versioning behavior ⓘ
goal	to make dependency management easier ⓘ to provide a shared language for versioning ⓘ to reduce versioning-related conflicts ⓘ
governs	backward compatibility in versioning ⓘ
influences	versioning practices in commercial software ⓘ versioning practices in open source software ⓘ
relatedConcept	API stability ⓘ backward compatibility ⓘ dependency resolution ⓘ release management ⓘ
requires	public API definition for a package using SemVer ⓘ
specifiesComponent	MAJOR version ⓘ MINOR version ⓘ PATCH version ⓘ build metadata identifiers ⓘ pre-release identifiers ⓘ
specifiesFormat	MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH ⓘ
states	build metadata does not affect version precedence ⓘ increment MAJOR version when making incompatible API changes ⓘ increment MINOR version when adding functionality in a backward compatible manner ⓘ increment PATCH version when making backward compatible bug fixes ⓘ pre-release versions have lower precedence than associated normal versions ⓘ
usedBy	many package managers ⓘ many programming language ecosystems ⓘ
usedFor	communicating impact of software changes ⓘ dependency version constraints ⓘ package management workflows ⓘ

How these facts were elicited