V2

V2 is a shorthand designation used to identify the second version of a product, protocol, standard, or document. The term is common across software, hardware, and technical domains and typically signals a major revision that introduces new features, improvements, or breaking changes relative to the previous release.

In practice, v2 can appear in release tags, product names, or documentation as v2, v2.0, or simply version 2. The accompanying versioning scheme varies by project: some follow semantic versioning (major.minor.patch), where a change to the first number indicates a breaking change; others use non-semantic labels where the intent is less formal. Regardless, v2 generally indicates a distinct, backward-impacted iteration from v1.

Notable examples include HTTP/2, the second major version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, which added features such as multiplexing and header compression to improve performance. Many software libraries, APIs, and hardware generations use v2 to label a significant upgrade over earlier releases.

Users and developers should consult release notes for v2 deployments to understand API changes, migration steps, and compatibility considerations. Backward compatibility is not guaranteed in all v2 transitions, and tooling or code changes may be required for integration.

See also: versioning, semantic versioning, release notes, product versioning, version control tagging.