What does an empty string ("") for dependency version mean in an npm package?

Question

I found this in a package.json's dependencies:

"example_package": "",

What does an empty string as a version number mean? Will it just install the latest version?

user_5631671 · Answer

According to semver, which is the library used by npm to parse version strings, an empty version string is invalid:

const semver = require('semver')

semver.valid('') // returns null

$ npm install semver
$ npx semver ''
$ echo $?
1