{"categories":[{"label":"Application Frameworks","url":"https://skillfed.io/packages/category/software-development-libraries-application-frameworks/2"}],"enrichment":{"capability":"Provides a drop-in replacement for the deprecated `distutils.version.LooseVersion` class, enabling flexible version comparison for non-PEP-440 version schemes.","skillfed_tags":["version-comparison","distutils-replacement"],"use_cases":["Compare versions from external APIs or systems that use non-standard version numbering schemes","Migrate away from distutils.version.LooseVersion without rewriting version comparison logic","Handle version strings from legacy software or heterogeneous sources in a single codebase","Maintain compatibility across dependencies that may still use the original distutils LooseVersion"],"what_it_does":"looseversion is a standalone implementation of the version comparison logic from Python's deprecated `distutils.version.LooseVersion`. It handles version strings that don't conform to PEP-440, such as those with arbitrary separators, mixed alphanumeric components, or non-standard ordering schemes. The package is designed as a drop-in replacement, maintaining identical comparison semantics and even allowing direct comparison between looseversion and distutils LooseVersion instances, so tools don't need to coordinate migrations across their dependency tree.\n\nYou would use this when you need to parse and compare version numbers from external systems, legacy software, or heterogeneous sources that predate or ignore PEP-440. It's explicitly not recommended for comparing Python package versions\u2014the description points to `packaging.version.Version` for that use case\u2014but it's the right tool when you're working with version schemes outside your control.","worth_installing":"Yes, if you need to compare non-PEP-440 version strings and want to avoid the deprecated distutils module. It has no dependencies, is actively maintained, and carries a permissive license. Skip it if you're only comparing Python package versions\u2014use packaging.version.Version instead."},"id":"looseversion","links":{"html":"https://skillfed.io/packages/looseversion","md":"https://skillfed.io/packages/looseversion.md","pypi":"https://pypi.org/project/looseversion/"},"maintenance":{"status":"active"},"meta":{"latest_release":"2023-07-05","license_spdx":null,"license_treatment":"permissive","name":"looseversion","python_support":"unspecified","summary":"Version numbering for anarchists and software realists"},"popularity":{"monthly_downloads":1772690,"position":3571,"tier":"top_5000"},"security":{"n_vulnerabilities":0},"version":"1.3.0"}