decoding ESET version numbers

[Aryeh Goretsky 378]

Hello,
 
The majority¹ of ESET's software uses a version numbering scheme composed of four sets of numbers.  Here's how to decode it!
 

{major version number}●{minor version number}●{build number}●{wave number}

 
The first number is the major version number, and it refers to the generation of the technology for that particular product line.  Note that the major version numbers do not always line up across product lines.  For example, Version 6 of ESET's consumer line, Version 5 of ESET's endpoint line and Version 4 of ESET's server line all use (roughly) the same underlying engine and detection technology, however, in some cases there have been fewer generations of a product line so its major version number might be lower than in the other product lines.  Fear not, though, detection isn't compromised.
 
The second number is the minor version number, and it refers to the revision in that generation of the technology for that product line.  For example, Version 5.2 of ESET Smart Security is second revision of the fifth generation of engine technology for that particular program.
 
The third number is the build number, and it refers to the number of times that particular major/minor version of a program has been compiled and built by ESET.  While major and minor version numbers tend to largely be sequential (Version 3, 4, 5, 6, et cetera), there is usually some "skipping" between build numbers for released software. That is because interim builds may be built for internal testing to try out a new technology or feature, verify a fix in the code and so forth.
 
The fourth, and last number, is the wave number, and it is used to specifically describe software localization (translation) into specific languages, such as French, Italian, German, Spanish and so forth. Localizations are done in groups or clusters, and the wave number is used to keep track of which cluster that localization goes with.  For example, ESET often releases new versions of its software in English and Slovak first.  These are "wave 0" of the releases.  Languages are typically clustered in the order that they were originally added to the product, so newer additions like Kazakh and Korean appear in later "waves" than, say, Spanish or Russian.  A wave of software is typically released all at once, however, the number of the wave does not determine the order in which software is released.  For example, "Wave 5" may be released before "Wave 4" or "Wave 3" because of market needs, the translations in that wave were approved before another wave, and so forth.
 
In some cases, a program may be internationalized and contain all supported languages in one installation package (like some of ESET's mobile programs) or the program may only be available in a single language (like some of ESET's server programs).  In these cases, the wave number may be omitted.
 
 
So, there you go…  You now know how to read ESET's version numbers!
 
 
Regards,
 
 
Aryeh Goretsky
 
 
¹A few of ESET's programs, such as public beta or release candidate builds, or various companion and standalone utilities, may use different versioning schemes.  Sometimes, a server program may also use a different versioning scheme in order to indicate compatibility with a specific server platform.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Aryeh Goretsky
Replaced "it's" with "its". Thanks Bruce!

[Nedim 9]

Thanks Aryeh...good to know that.

And it's good to be here.

Forum looks great.

[victorhcardoso 18]

Aryeh,

 

Thanks a lot for letting us know in details about the significance of Eset's code number.

 

I am enjoying a lot new Eset's forum!

 

Congratulations!