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

[Andrew Suffield]

On Wed, Sep 10, 2003 at 04:10:27PM -0700, Tom Lord wrote:
> 
>     > From: Andrew Suffield <address@hidden>
> 
>     >>> [version numbers model development paterns]
> 
>     > 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.
> 
> That'd be a process bug, if you ask me.   Surely they make a series of
> releases, no?

The files have date stamps embedded in them, to identify them. I'm not
sure if they're ever formally released.

>     > >     > 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 t=
>     > he
>     > >     > 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.
> 
> (Really not sure how important this is to anything, but:)
> 
> Do I have this right:  You have some packaging.  The union of the
> packaging with the upstream stuff consitutes the debian package.
> 
> Is there some reason why the version number of the appropriate
> packaging doesn't equal the version number of the upstream foo?
> Isn't that how it's used even if, by coincidence, there's no changes
> in the packaging stuff between upstream versions?

If I were to use this version number for tla, it would force me to
branch and tag every time the upstream version changed. That's highly
inappropriate.

There *is* a version number, but it is *not* related to the pattern of
development.

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