From mobile apps to microservices, from small startups to big enterprises, Gradle helps teams build, automate and deliver better software, faster.

Gradle Community

I am comparing

```0.5.0-SNAPSHOT
0.5.0+1.9.20-dev-5788-SNAPSHOT```
I guess it is the same than comparing it without `SNAPSHOT`

```0.5.0
0.5.0+1.9.20-dev-5788```
As as the first is a final version and the second has extra data with a separator, `+`, I think the second should be lower, but I am not sure if that is true, a public tool or class to compare versions should great.

Additionally, project version in the future will use `Provider&lt;String&gt;`, or is it possible it uses something like `Provider&lt;SomeGradleVersionApi&gt;` , I think this latest one should be better, it would be less flexible, but it would help library authors to publish versions that can be ordered correctly by tools like Renovate or Dependabot, not only Gradle

<https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/single_versions.html#version_ordering>

there was <https://docs.gradle.org/current/javadoc/org/gradle/util/VersionNumber.html> but it's going away

It's also always a matter of definition. There are many philosophies out there about version semantics.

If you for example follow the semantic versioning specification, both of the versions you posted are to be treated equal. There is no precedence between those two.