Base API Version Numbers and Compatibility

There are several aspects of the API that may change over time.

Version numbers are used to document various kinds of compatibility between different versions.

Major and Minor API Product Version

The product version number for the API governs the compatibility on the source code level, that is, the include files.

Base API has a product version number, which consists of three components: major version number, minor version number, and version qualifier.

Detailed description:

• Major Version Number
  Changes in the major version number indicate a disruptive change without guaranteeing compatibility with prior versions. Details are documented in the Release Notes.
  See MI_BASE_VERSION_MAJOR in Versioning of the Base API.
• Minor Version Number
  Changes in the minor version number, where the major version number remains unchanged, indicate an upwards compatible change. Old sources compile without changes.
  See MI_BASE_VERSION_MINOR in Versioning of the Base API.
• Version Qualifier
  A string that indicates special versions, such as alpha and beta releases. Final end-customer releases have an empty version qualifier. The compatibility guarantees described here are only given for end-customer releases and do not hold for new features introduced in alpha or beta releases.
  See MI_BASE_VERSION_QUALIFIER in Versioning of the Base API.