Which description accurately summarizes semantic versioning and its usefulness for APIs?

• A. Semantic versioning uses only date-based increments.
• B. SemVer encodes compatibility in MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH increments; helps consumers predict breaking changes and plan upgrades.
• C. SemVer increases all segments for every update.
• D. Semantic versioning is only for internal prototypes.

Answer: (B)

Semantic versioning uses MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH to communicate compatibility and changes. The major version bumps when breaking changes are introduced, the minor version adds backward-compatible features, and the patch version includes backward-compatible bug fixes. This scheme lets API consumers predict upgrade impact: a major change signals potential breaking code, a minor bump adds new capabilities without breaking existing clients, and a patch is a safe, small fix. Because of that, teams can plan updates, manage dependencies, and automate upgrade decisions with confidence.

Other descriptions don’t fit SemVer: relying on date-based increments doesn’t express compatibility, increasing all parts on every update isn’t how SemVer signals changes, and saying it’s only for internal prototypes ignores its intent to facilitate stable public APIs and predictable ecosystems.