The jar file is executable and provides a little tool to display how Maven parses and compares versions:

+----+
$ java -jar maven-artifact-*.jar 3.2.4-alpha-1 3.2.4-SNAPSHOT 3.2.4.0
Display parameters as parsed by Maven (in canonical form) and comparison result:
1. 3.2.4-alpha-1 == 3.2.4.alpha.1
   3.2.4-alpha-1 < 3.2.4-SNAPSHOT
2. 3.2.4-SNAPSHOT == 3.2.4.snapshot
   3.2.4-SNAPSHOT < 3.2.4.0
3. 3.2.4.0 == 3.2.4

 ({{{./xref/org/apache/maven/plugin/internal/DefaultMavenPluginManager.html}source}}),

 * {{{./apidocs/org/apache/maven/plugin/PluginParameterExpressionEvaluator.html}PluginParameterExpressionEvaluator}}, used to
 evaluate plugin parameters values during Mojo configuration,

 * <<<ExceptionHandler>>> component ({{{./apidocs/org/apache/maven/exception/ExceptionHandler.html}javadoc}}),
 with its <<<DefaultExceptionHandler>>> implementation