verlib2

0.3.2 · active · verified Thu Apr 16

verlib2 is a Python library that provides a standalone bundle of version parsing implementations, specifically `distutils.version` (PEP 386) and `packaging.version` (PEP 440). Its primary purpose is to offer these functionalities without requiring the `packaging` library as a dependency, and to provide a solution for projects that relied on `distutils.version` after `distutils` was removed from the Python standard library in Python 3.12. It is actively maintained with a steady release cadence.

Common errors

```
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'distutils.version'
```
cause Attempting to import `distutils.version` in Python 3.12 or newer where `distutils` has been removed from the standard library.

fix Replace `from distutils.version import ...` with `from verlib2.distutils.version import ...`.
```
TypeError: '<' not supported between instances of 'Version' and 'str'
```
cause Attempting to compare a `verlib2.Version` object directly with a string. Version objects must be compared with other Version objects.

fix Ensure all values being compared are instances of `verlib2.Version` (or `LooseVersion`/`StrictVersion`). For example, `Version('1.0') < Version('2.0')`.

Warnings

breaking Direct imports from `distutils.version` will fail in Python 3.12 and later, as `distutils` was removed from the standard library.
Fix: Migrate `from distutils.version import LooseVersion` to `from verlib2.distutils.version import LooseVersion` (and similarly for `StrictVersion`).
gotcha The default `verlib2.Version` class implements PEP 440, which has different parsing and comparison rules than PEP 386 (implemented by `LooseVersion` and `StrictVersion`). For instance, PEP 440 treats `1.0` and `1.0.0` as equal, while PEP 386's `LooseVersion` considers them different.
Fix: Carefully choose the appropriate version class (`Version` for PEP 440, `LooseVersion` or `StrictVersion` for PEP 386) based on the specific versioning standard your project requires.

Install

pip install verlib2 Install latest version

Imports

Version
wrong:
```
from packaging.version import Version
```
correct:
```
from verlib2 import Version
```
The primary `Version` class in `verlib2` is the PEP 440 implementation, mirroring `packaging.version.Version` to avoid the `packaging` dependency.
LooseVersion
wrong:
```
from distutils.version import LooseVersion
```
correct:
```
from verlib2.distutils.version import LooseVersion
```
`distutils.version` was removed in Python 3.12. `verlib2` bundles its functionality to ensure compatibility.
StrictVersion
wrong:
```
from distutils.version import StrictVersion
```
correct:
```
from verlib2.distutils.version import StrictVersion
```
`distutils.version` was removed in Python 3.12. `verlib2` bundles its functionality to ensure compatibility.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to import and use both the PEP 440-compliant `Version` class and the PEP 386-compliant `LooseVersion` and `StrictVersion` classes for version comparison and parsing. It highlights the differences in parsing rules between the two standards, particularly regarding development suffixes and strictness.

from verlib2 import Version
from verlib2.distutils.version import LooseVersion, StrictVersion

# Using PEP 440 (packaging.version) style
v1 = Version("1.0.dev456")
v2 = Version("1!1.2.rev33+123456")

assert v1 < v2
assert Version("1.0") == Version("1.0.0")

# Using PEP 386 (distutils.version) style
lv1 = LooseVersion("1.2.3b1")
lv2 = LooseVersion("1.2.3")

assert lv1 < lv2
assert LooseVersion("1.0") != LooseVersion("1.0.0") # Different behavior than PEP 440

try:
    sv = StrictVersion("1.2.3.4") # StrictVersion does not allow arbitrary suffixes
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"StrictVersion error: {e}")

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