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Comment by hashmymustache | Hacker News Reader

This is probably a stupid question that can be answered if I read the docs, but how does versioning work? I love using node, but seeing 0.10.0 makes it appear like such young, teething software that people might immediately dismiss it if not for its user base. Why not call this node 10.0 and start at 0.1 instead of having another 0 that looks like it won't ever increment. Does it reflect a developer's sense of completeness or confidence in his/her software or does it come from quantifiable steps toward stability/speed?

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THey've defined their versioning based on a subjective assessment of stability, willingness to add new features, and API compatibility. They plan 0.12 to be the final 0.x release before a 1.0 release.

Node uses semantic versioning: http://semver.org/

Not perfectly: "If your software is being used in production, it should probably already be 1.0.0."

The public API is not stable, hence a 0.xx number is justified.

That doesn't seem to match what the semver.org site says.

Node's public API is not changing in a backward-incompatible way every day (or even every week, or every month). The software is widely used in production.

I think node 1.0.0 should have been some time ago, and this release should have bumped the major version again.

"Major version zero (0.y.z) is for initial development. Anything may change at any time. The public API should not be considered stable." -- from semver.org

"The software is widely used in production."

Depending on how you define the "public API", things have changed from 0.8 to 0.10 (streams API, for example).

Your definition of Node 1.0.0 is based on your conception of how others are using node. People can use experimental software in high-profile places without deeming the underlying technology stable.

"Node's public API is not changing in a backward-incompatible way every day (or even every week, or every month). "

Also: in general, development is highly nonlinear. I would say the API is stable when the core developers deem it stable.

> Not perfectly: "If your software is being used in production, it should probably already be 1.0.0."

"Probably" is, ipso facto, not normative.

Semantic Versioning: http://semver.org/

IMO, seeing 0.10.0 makes it appear like something that's worked on very carefully, in a professional manner, that's being nice and honest and realistic in what it promises. A version like "10.0" would lead me to think completely the opposite (that it was written by people more concerned with marketing than the quality of the product) and therefore put me off. It's funny how equally irrational we can be, in completely opposite directions :)

I think exactly the same. I'd love to give Node a go for some of my projects but seeing a version like 0.10 kind of dissuade me. On the other hand, there are some big sites built on Node like MySpace, and don't know what to think of it.

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