How to compare semantic versions strings in bash using python

This isn’t pure bash, but the pure bash implementations I’ve found are pretty long and ugly. This solution gives me the balance I’m looking for between pure bash and readability.

I use the following shell function. My version strings are of the form release-X.Y or master. master should always be the latest version.

compare_versions() {
    local aver="$1"
    local op="$2"
    local bver="$3"
    if [ "$aver" = master ] ; then aver=release-9999 ; fi
    if [ "$bver" = master ] ; then bver=release-9999 ; fi
    python -c 'import sys
from pkg_resources import parse_version
sys.exit(not parse_version(sys.argv[1])'"${op}"'parse_version(sys.argv[2]))' "$aver" "$bver"
}

For example, if the version is release-3.11 and I want to take some action if the release is release-3.10 or later:

if compare_versions $version '>=' release-3.10 ; then
    echo do something for newer versions
else
    echo do something else for older versions
fi

If $version is release-3.10, release-3.11, or master it will hit the echo do something for newer versions branch, otherwise it will hit the other branch.