Version formats

Most apps never need this page. Read it if your version looks different from 1.2.3, for example a date, or a beta or canary tag.

The comparison does not need strict semver (the 1.2.3 style).

Missing parts count as zero, so 1.2 and 1.2.0 are the same. Numbers are compared as numbers, so 1.10 is newer than 1.9.

Beta, canary and other tags

A tag sorts below its release: 1.2.3-beta is older than 1.2.3. Tags on the same release go in the order they usually ship: dev, nightly, canary, alpha, beta, preview, pre, rc. Other words sort alphabetically. Numbers inside a tag are compared as numbers, so rc2 comes before rc10.

A format the package cannot read

A version with no number at all (canary), or odd text (2.0 (build 5)), is rejected with an InvalidVersionError. Give your own comparison instead:

import { UpdatePrompt } from '@axonpack/in-app-updates';
import { Text, View } from 'react-native';

const digits = (v: string) => Number(v.replace(/\D/g, ''));

export default function App() {
  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Text>My app</Text>
      {/* Like Array.sort: negative, zero or positive */}
      <UpdatePrompt compare={(a, b) => digits(a) - digits(b)} />
    </View>
  );
}

compare is used for every decision: is there an update, the minimum version, and skip. depth is ignored while it is set. updateType falls back to patch for any newer version it cannot size.

Build numbers

The same version can ship again. For example, a hotfix keeps 1.4.0 and only raises the build number. When the store and the app have the same version, a higher build number counts as an update of type build. The prompt then shows the build next to each version, such as 1.4.0 (10) and 1.4.0 (20).

The build number is a different number on each platform:

Where the latest build number comes from:

• Android, Google Play. The Play Store page shows only the version name. If the optional Play in-app update module is installed and Play offers the update to that user, Play's availableVersionCode is used. Play and your app both report the versionCode, so they are compared as numbers. Without the module, or on a build you installed yourself, there is no build number.
• iOS. The App Store reports no build number. It needs a new version string for every release, so the version alone is enough.
• Your own JSON endpoint, on any platform: add buildNumber or latestBuildNumber.
• The latestBuildNumber option. Give it to needUpdate, with no provider.

To give both numbers by hand:

import { needUpdate } from '@axonpack/in-app-updates';

const result = await needUpdate({
  latestVersion: '1.4.0',
  currentVersion: '1.4.0',
  currentBuildNumber: 41,
  latestBuildNumber: 42,
  ignoreErrors: false,
});
// result.updateType === 'build'

Helpers

compareVersions, isGreater, satisfiesMinimum, diffVersions, parseVersion and truncateVersion are exported, so your own code compares versions the same way.

Next: Play in-app updates