Package org.gradle.api.artifacts

## Interface VersionConstraint

- All Superinterfaces:
    `Describable`
  All Known Subinterfaces:
    `MutableVersionConstraint`

      @Incubating
      public interface VersionConstraint
      extends Describable

  Represents a constraint that is used to match module versions to a dependency. Each of `getPreferredVersion()`, `getRequiredVersion()` and `getStrictVersion()` is represented by a version String, that can be compared against a module version to determine if the version matches.

  #### Version syntax

  Gradle supports different ways of declaring a version String:

  - An exact version: e.g. 1.3, 1.3.0-beta3, 1.0-20150201.131010-1
  - A Maven-style version range: e.g. [1.0,), [1.1, 2.0), (1.2, 1.5]
    - The '[' and ']' symbols indicate an inclusive bound; '(' and ')' indicate an exclusive bound.
    - When the upper or lower bound is missing, the range has no upper or lower bound.
    - The symbol ']' can be used instead of '(' for an exclusive lower bound, and '[' instead of ')' for exclusive upper bound. e.g "]1.0, 2.0["
  - A prefix version range: e.g. 1.+, 1.3.+
    - Only versions exactly matching the portion before the '+' are included.
    - The range '+' on it's own will include any version.
  - A latest-status version: e.g. latest.integration, latest.release
    - Will match the highest versioned module with the specified status. See `ComponentMetadata.getStatus()`.
  - A Maven SNAPSHOT version identifier: e.g. 1.0-SNAPSHOT, 1.4.9-beta1-SNAPSHOT

  #### Version ordering

  Versions have an implicit ordering. Version ordering is used to:
  - Determine if a particular version is included in a range.
  - Determine which version is 'newest' when performing conflict resolution.

  Versions are ordered based on the following rules:

  - Each version is split into it's constituent "parts":
    - The characters [`. - _ +`] are used to separate the different "parts" of a version.
    - Any part that contains both digits and letters is split into separate parts for each: `1a1 == 1.a.1`
    - Only the parts of a version are compared. The actual separator characters are not significant: `1.a.1 == 1-a+1 == 1.a-1 == 1a1`
  - The equivalent parts of 2 versions are compared using the following rules:
    - If both parts are numeric, the highest numeric value is higher: `1.1 < 1.2`
    - If one part is numeric, it is considered higher than the non-numeric part: `1.a < 1.1`
    - If both are not numeric, the parts are compared alphabetically, case-sensitive: `1.a < 1.A < 1.b < 1.B`
    - An version with an extra numeric part is considered higher than a version without: `1.1 < 1.1.0`
    - An version with an extra non-numeric part is considered lower than a version without: `1.1 < 1.1.a`
  - Certain string values have special meaning for the purposes of ordering:
    - The string "dev" is consider lower than any other string part: 1.0-dev < 1.0-alpha < 1.0-rc.
    - The strings "rc", "release" and "final" are considered higher than any other string part (sorted in that order): 1.0-zeta < 1.0-rc < 1.0-release < 1.0-final < 1.0.
    - The string "SNAPSHOT" has no special meaning, and is sorted alphabetically like any other string part: 1.0-alpha < 1.0-SNAPSHOT < 1.0-zeta < 1.0-rc < 1.0.
    - Numeric snapshot versions have no special meaning, and are sorted like any other numeric part: 1.0 < 1.0-20150201.121010-123 < 1.1.
  Since:
    4.4

- - ### Method Summary

    All Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods
    Modifier and Type | Method | Description
    --- | --- | ---
    `String` | `getBranch()` | The branch to select versions from.
    `String` | `getPreferredVersion()` | The preferred version of a module (which may be an exact version or a version range).
    `List<String>` | `getRejectedVersions()` | Returns the list of versions that this module rejects (which may be exact versions, or ranges, anything that fits into a version string).
    `String` | `getRequiredVersion()` | The required version of a module (which may be an exact version or a version range).
    `String` | `getStrictVersion()` | The strictly required version of a module (which may be an exact version or a version range).

    - ### Methods inherited from interface org.gradle.api.Describable

      `getDisplayName`

- - ### Method Detail

    - #### getBranch

          @Nullable
          String getBranch()

      The branch to select versions from. When not `null` selects only those versions that were built from the specified branch.
      Since:
        4.6

    - #### getRequiredVersion

          String getRequiredVersion()

      The required version of a module (which may be an exact version or a version range). The required version of a module can typically be upgraded during dependency resolution, but not downgraded.
      Returns:
        the required version, or empty string if no required version specified. Never null.

    - #### getPreferredVersion

          String getPreferredVersion()

      The preferred version of a module (which may be an exact version or a version range). The preferred version of a module provides a hint when resolving the version, but will not be honored in the presence of conflicting constraints.
      Returns:
        the preferred version, or empty string if no preferred version specified. Never null.

    - #### getStrictVersion

          String getStrictVersion()

      The strictly required version of a module (which may be an exact version or a version range). The required version of a module is strictly enforced and cannot be upgraded or downgraded during dependency resolution.
      Returns:
        the strict version, or empty string if no required version specified. Never null.

    - #### getRejectedVersions

          List<String> getRejectedVersions()

      Returns the list of versions that this module rejects (which may be exact versions, or ranges, anything that fits into a version string).
      Returns:
        the list of rejected versions