Calendar Versioning
Calendar Versioning is a software versioning scheme where version numbers are based on calendar dates, typically in the format YYYY.MM.DD or YYYY.MM, to indicate the release date. It provides a predictable and human-readable versioning system that aligns releases with time, making it easy to understand the age and sequence of versions. This approach is often used for projects with frequent, time-based releases, such as operating systems, libraries, or tools that follow a regular release schedule.
Developers should use Calendar Versioning when they need a simple, transparent versioning system that avoids the complexity of semantic versioning, especially for projects with predictable release cycles like monthly or yearly updates. It is ideal for consumer-facing software, APIs, or frameworks where users benefit from knowing the release date at a glance, such as Ubuntu's versioning (e.g., 24.04 for April 2024) or Python's release schedule. This method reduces confusion about version numbers and emphasizes timeliness over feature-based increments.