Version numbering scheme

I go pretty much by the old style Linux Kernel Version Numbering System. All program version numbers contain three numbers separated by periods (dots). The first number is the program version. For example, the third version would be represented by the number 2, since counting starts at 0.

The second number is the programs major number. Major numbers which are even numbers (0 is considered an even number) are said to be stable. That is, these programs should not have any crippling bugs, as they have been fairly heavily tested.

0.1.x	Unstable/Beta
0.2.x 	Stable/Release
0.3.x	Unstable/Beta
0.4.x	Stable/Release
...
1.0.x	Stable/Release
1.1.x	Unstable/Beta
1.2.x	Stable/Release
...
2.0.x	Stable/Release
2.1.x	Unstable/Beta
...

0.2.0 would be the first stable version ever released. Note that even though this is the first stable (non-buggy) version, it may be lacking some functionality. No '-pre' or '-alpha' versions or 'a', 'b' or 'c' versions exist. Version 1.0.0 should contain all features that were originally planned (i.e. ideally no bugs and full functionality).

The programs with odd major numbers are developmental. These have not been tested and often as not will break any software packages you may be running. Occasionally, one works well enough that it will be adopted by users needing the latest and greatest support before the next stable release. This is the exception rather than the rule, and it sometime requires substantial changes to a system.

The last number is the minor number and is increased by one for each release. If you see program version 2.0.8, you know it's a stable version 2.0, and that it's the ninth release (as we begin counting with 0).