Re: [Gnu-arch-users] What are version numbers?

[Andrew Suffield]

On Wed, Sep 10, 2003 at 03:05:26PM -0700, Tom Lord wrote:
> 
>     > From: Andrew Suffield <address@hidden>
> 
>     > On Wed, Sep 10, 2003 at 01:35:12PM -0700, Tom Lord wrote:
>     > > Why do GCC releases and development lines have version numbers?  Or
>     > > Mozilla, or the linux kernel, or bash, or tla, or (etc.)?   It
>     > > reflects how software is developed and deployed.
> 
>     > This is false, or at least misleading. It reflects how _some_ software
>     > is developed and deployed.
> 
>     > A common counterexample would be config.sub and config.guess.
> 
> In what sense are they a counter-example.   Sorry -- I just don't
> follow you here.

They don't have version numbers.

>     > A slightly more topical one might be the branches in which I store
>     > debian packaging (which does have a version number, but that version
>     > number is not related to its development at all - it's related to the
>     > development of the corresponding _upstream_ code).
> 
> To your consumers, isn't that structuring from upstream the critical
> thing?
> 
> Really not seeing your point here, sorry.

In this example, the version numbers bear no relationship to the lines
of development - so I set the version field to something arbitrary
("1.0") and ignore it completely. Development here is entirely
orthogonal to the version number.

-- 
  .''`.  ** Debian GNU/Linux ** | Andrew Suffield
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