npm-update does NOT follow SemVer

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

Current Behavior

The documentation states:

If the dependence were on ^0.4.0... Then npm update will install dep1@0.4.1, because that is the highest-sorting version that satisfies ^0.4.0 (>= 0.4.0 <0.5.0)

which is exactly how it behaves.

Also, the documentation states:

This command will update all the packages listed to the latest version (specified by the tag config), respecting the semver constraints of both your package and its dependencies (if they also require the same package).

Expected Behavior

These two above statements in documentation are logically incompatible. SemVer does NOT consider 0.4.1 as an upgrade from 0.4.0.

SemVer is defined at: https://semver.org. And it states specifically:

Major version zero (0.y.z) is for initial development. Anything MAY change at any time. The public API SHOULD NOT be considered stable.

https://semver.org/#spec-item-4

Steps To Reproduce

Recommendation:

Update the program behavior to actually support SemVer for the carat (^) operator.

-or-

Update documentation to clarify that this is NOT SemVer. And then actually implement a SemVer with some other operator.

Environment

• OS: macOS 11.4
• Node: 14
• npm: 7

Start with the npm-update documentation and reproduce the caret behavior using the Node 14/npm 7 environment described. Resolve whether the command or the documentation should change, then verify that the selected behavior and SemVer explanation are consistent.