How to Accurately Compare Python Version Strings?

How to Elegantly Compare Python Version Strings

When working with Python packages, it is often necessary to compare version numbers. However, comparing string versions can lead to incorrect results, as the string order may not correspond to the actual version ordering.

To address this issue, Python provides the packaging.version.Version class, which supports the PEP 440 style of version string ordering. This method allows for the accurate comparison of version strings, taking into account special characters and pre-release identifiers.

Using Version is straightforward:

from packaging.version import Version

version1 = Version("2.3.1")
version2 = Version("10.1.2")

print(version1 < version2)  # True

Unlike the native string comparison, Version correctly recognizes that "2.3.1" is less than "10.1.2".

Another option, though deprecated, is distutils.version. While it is undocumented and conforms to the outdated PEP 386, it may still be encountered:

from distutils.version import LooseVersion

version1 = LooseVersion("2.3.1")
version2 = LooseVersion("10.1.2")

print(version1 < version2)  # True

However, distutils.version has limitations and doesn't handle PEP 440 versions correctly.

In summary, for comparing Python version strings accurately and in a Pythonic way, use packaging.version.Version.

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