Prior to libSBML version 4, there had been no formally-defined numbering scheme for libSBML releases. This needed to change to facilitate modularization and SBML Level 3 packages. Therefore, the following system was introduced in libSBML 4 and subsequent releases:
Release number principles
LibSBML releases are numbered X.x.p where
X denotes a major version number
x denotes a minor version number
and
p denotes a patch version number.
Notes about the numbers:
- The major version number will only change when incompatible API changes have been made.
- The minor version number will change when there have been additions to the API but no changes.
- The patch version will change when there have been bug fixes within the code but no changes to the API interface.
Experimental-only releases
In 2014 we introduced the concept of an experimental-only release. Since this code will not have been subject to the rigorous testing that precedes a full release it should still be considered ‘experimental’, as it may change before the next full release. Consequently, experimental-only releases will only ever update the patch version number.