Versioning System

A semantically meaningful, time-aware, single-channel versioning convention for recursive systems.

🌱 Overview

The CommIT versioning system is designed to track the evolution of anything over time, in a single channel, while preserving:

  • Temporal traceability

  • Stability tier signaling

  • Human-readable narrative identity

  • Compatibility with iterative and experimental development

This system replaces traditional multi-branch models with a unified format that embeds context directly into the version number, allowing both machines and humans to intuitively interpret version meaning.

🧭 Structure Summary

There are three layers to each release:

Layer

Format

Purpose

Commercial/Release Name

CommIT 25

Human-facing public identity for a canonical release year

Official Version

YYYY.MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

Chronologically tagged stable releases

Experimental Version

YYYY.QX.MINOR.PATCH

Time-bound unstable/alpha builds for development, testing, or exploration

🧩 Format Details

Divided into 3: What we show to people, what we have as a main thing, what we can experiment on

1. 🔖 Release Name (Bastion Layer)

  • Format: <”NAME”> <YY>

  • Example: CommIT 25 = the canonical stable release identity for 2025.

This is the version name used in presentations, publications, releases, etc. It anchors a stable build’s theme and context to a specific year without exposing its internal evolution.

2. 📦 Official Build (Ascent Layer)

  • Format: YYYY.MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

  • Example: 2025.1.2.0

Usage:

  • Represents confirmed, stable versions of the system.

  • Chronologically bound by year.

  • Iteratively progresses through feature enhancements and bug fixes.

Fields:

  • YYYY → The year of release (e.g., 2025).

  • MAJOR → First-level milestone (significant new features, rewrites, or framework breakthroughs).

  • MINOR → Smaller milestones (modular refactors, new principles, new modules added).

  • PATCH → Bugfixes, typo corrections, non-structural improvements.

Rules:

  • MAJOR increases reset MINOR and PATCH to 0.

  • MINOR increases reset PATCH to 0.

  • PATCH increases freely.

3. 🧪 Quarterly Build (Syphon Layer)

  • Format: YYYY.QX.MINOR.PATCH

  • Example: 2025.Q2.3.14

Usage:

  • Represents unstable, in-progress, exploratory, or WIP builds

  • Divides the year into four quarters:

    • Q1 → Jan–Mar

    • Q2 → Apr–Jun

    • Q3 → Jul–Sep

    • Q4 → Oct–Dec

Fields:

  • YYYY → The year the build is worked on.

  • QX → Quarter of the year.

  • MINOR → Indicates feature additions, iterations.

  • PATCH → Fixes, refactors, tiny logic shifts.

Alternatively:

To allow finer granularity, especially for projects with faster release cycles, the quarter can be replaced by a month:

  • Format: <YEAR>.M<MONTH>.<MINOR>.<PATCH>

  • Example: 2025.M06.3.0

    • Year: 2025

    • Month: M06 (June)

    • Minor: 3

    • Patch: 0

Rules:

  • Quarters are strictly tied to real-world calendar quarters.

  • These builds do not replace stable releases but serve as development previews.

  • Patch number can be frequent and go up to hundreds of versions per quarter but it resets regardless of number length when <MINOR> number changes

🎛️ Implementation Guidelines

CI/CD Integration:

  • Git tags can match YYYY.MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH or YYYY.QX.MINOR.PATCH.

  • <”Name”> <YY> should live in changelogs, documentation, and release notes.

Automation Tip:

To integrate smoothly with systems expecting semver:

  • Internally treat quarters (Q1, Q2, etc.) as numeric equivalents for compatibility:

  • Q1 → 0, Q2 → 1, Q3 → 2, Q4 → 3 (e.g., for semantic sorting)

  • Or, expose both:

    • Git tag: v2025.Q2.3.7

    • Internal version field: 2025.1.3.7

🛠️ Intended Use Cases

Use Case

Version Layer

Public communications, roadmaps, or public-facing narratives

CommIT 25

Finalized, reviewed stable release

2025.1.2.0

Active in-development testing build

2025.Q2.3.14

Archived experimental logic snapshot

2025.Q1.0.99

Backward trace through experimental history

Sorted QX/MX builds

🧠 Philosophical Context

This system is shaped by the values of CommIT:

  • Transparency of process (each quarter has traceable builds)

  • Recursion & iteration (builds are not flat, but evolving layers)

  • Temporal humility (anchoring versions in the year avoids timeless bloat)

  • Anti-fragmentation (single-channel unification, no excessive branching)

  • Meaning embedded in form (each version says what it is)

🧪 Examples

Product

Current Version

CommIT Version System Style

Meaning

iOS 17.5

17.5

2024.5.0.0

Fifth official milestone of iOS in the year 2024, zero patches.

iOS 18 Developer Beta 2

18 DB2

2025.Q2.2.0

Second experimental build of 2025 in Q2 for the upcoming stable release.

iOS 26 (rumored jump)

26.0

2025.6.0.0

Sixth major iteration of 2025 (presumes a significant branding push).

Android 14

14

2023.4.0.0

Fourth official release milestone in 2023.

Android 15 Beta 3

15 Beta 3

2024.Q2.3.0

Third exploratory build in Q2 of 2024 for Android 15.

Linux Kernel 6.9.1

6.9.1

2024.6.9.1

First patch of 9th minor revision of 6th major kernel version in 2024.

Linux Experimental Nightly

mainline-20240607

2024.Q2.7.0

Seventh experimental iteration in Q2 of 2024 (June 7 nightly).

Windows 11 23H2

23H2

2023.2.0.0

Second stable Windows release of 2023.

Windows Insider Canary (May 2025)

Build 26217

2025.Q2.17.0

17th preview iteration developed in Q2 of 2025.

macOS Sonoma 14.5

14.5

2024.5.0.0

Fifth stable macOS release of 2024.

macOS Sequoia Beta 1

15 beta 1

2025.Q2.1.0

First unstable build of the 15th macOS major revision, released in Q2 2025.

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