Facebook has changed the way they number versions of their React.js JavaScript library. By jumping from version 0.14 to 15.0, moving the major decimal point, they hope to bring more acceptance to their burgeoning project.
In a blog post announcing the change, Sebastian Markbage says that changing the versioning scheme "helps indicate our commitment to stability and gives us the flexibility to add new backwards-compatible features in minor releases".
Prior to the change, the current React.js version was 0.14.X which React developers referred to as "React fourteen". However, that leading "0" has caused some confusion in the community, leading some to believe that it wasn't yet ready to use in production. On Reddit, user Jodiug echoed this sentiment:
Version numbers are worth nothing, but they mean a lot to some people. Stability-minded managers look for reasons to disapprove a new technology because sometimes, new means risky. A version number 0.14 does not accurately reflect what React.js is today.
The project will continue to follow SemVer guidelines, increasing the major version number when there are breaking changes. Asked on twitter why not just call this version "1.0", Ben Alpert said they don't think 1.0 is "special".
@trevordmiller @reactjs Mostly want to deemphasize "1.0" since we don't think of it as special. This is semver though.
— Ben Alpert (@soprano) February 19, 2016
Dan Abramov said on Twitter to "think about it this way: we’ve been treating minors like majors. Now we move 0 to the end to make it right."
There are no current plans to update the version number of React Native, though a similar change will likely occur sometime in the next year or two.