package.info rules

In the package.json file, you can use various symbols to specify the version of a dependency package. These symbols help define the acceptable version range, balancing the need to keep software up-to-date and compatible while controlling the risks associated with version changes. Here are the common version notation syntaxes and their meanings:

1. Exact Version No symbol or a specific version number: e.g., 1.2.3 means only this exact version is accepted.
2. Range Modifiers ^ Symbol: Allows installations of the latest version within the same major version. For example, ^1.2.3 means any version from 1.2.3 up to, but not including, 2.0.0 is acceptable. ~ Symbol: Allows installations of the latest version within the same major and minor version. For example, ~1.2.3 means any version from 1.2.3 up to, but not including, 1.3.0 is acceptable.

   , < , >= , <=: Represent greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, and less than or equal to a version, respectively. For instance, >1.2.3 means any version higher than 1.2.3 is acceptable.

3. Hyphen Ranges Example: 1.2.3 - 2.3.4 means any version from 1.2.3 to 2.3.4 inclusive is acceptable.
4. X-Ranges Asterisk (*): Means any version is acceptable. For example, *, or “1.x”, or “1.2.x”. In these cases, if the major version is specified, the minor and patch versions can be any value. Empty string: If no version is specified, it is often interpreted as an asterisk.
5. Logical OR Ranges Separated by ||: Means either condition suffices. For example, <1.2.3 || >2.3.4 means any version less than 1.2.3 or greater than 2.3.4 is acceptable.
6. Pre-releases Pre-release tags: You can append a hyphen and some identifiers to a version number to indicate that it is a pre-release version, such as 1.2.3-alpha.1.
7. URLs, Git URLs, File Paths Specifying a dependency source directly: Besides version numbers, you can specify a URL, a git repository URL, or a local file path as a dependency source. For example: https://example.com/path/to/package.tgz git+https://github.com/user/project.git#commit-ish file:../local/path/to/package These version notation syntaxes provide flexible ways to manage project dependencies, allowing projects to benefit from new versions while ensuring the necessary stability.