How do you know what version number to use?

Question

Here\'s one I have always wondered about...

Please excuse my naivety, but - How do you decide what version number to name your software?

I assume, when someb

Answer 1

Whatever numbering scheme you pick, it is critical to make clear to your users when a new version is compatible with old client code versus when a new version requires changes to existing clients. Most projects I know bump the very first number when client code has to change.

Beyond compatibility, I too think there's a lot to be said for using dates. Although it gets embarrassing if, like me, your release schedule is once every two years (but that's for a tool first released in 1989).