versioon

Versioon is the Estonian term for the concept of a version, a designation that identifies a particular state of a product, document, or dataset. In English and many other languages, a version helps track changes, manage compatibility, and document provenance and maintenance responsibilities. The idea applies across software, publishing, media, and hardware documentation, where precise labeling supports release planning and traceability.

Version numbers are usually represented as a sequence of numerals separated by dots, such as 2.5.3. The most widely used framework in software is semantic versioning (SemVer), which defines three core components: major, minor, and patch. Incrementing the major version signals backward-incompatible changes, the minor version adds backward-compatible functionality, and the patch number delivers bug fixes without changing functionality. Pre-release identifiers (for example, 2.1.0-alpha) and build metadata (for example, +build.123) may accompany a version to convey additional information about stability or provenance. Other versioning schemes include date-based versions (for example, 2024.10.15) and simple incremental integers.

In practice, a version labels a particular state of a product, while a release is the act of distributing that state to users or environments. Version control systems often use tags or labels to mark versions, and changelogs document the changes made in each version. Proper versioning supports dependency management, compatibility assessment, and rollback planning, making it a fundamental practice in software development, publishing, and product management.

See also: Semantic versioning, Version control, Change log.