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Version numbers
In the commercial software arena, and linux distributions, version numbers are a matter of marketing. If you have foo 1.0 are you more likely to upgrade to foo 1.0.1, foo 1.5 or foo 2.0? The release numbers of my software depend on how heavily it has been tested. mpkern started at 1.0 because it was heavily tested by then (moudlo a couple a few minor bugs that somehow got into the distirbution). The changes from 1.0 to 1.0.2, soon to be the latest relase, are small everywhere exccept for the build system. Less heavily tested software starts at version numbers like 0.001alpha, which is hoped to tell clueful people to expect bugs, depsite my efforts to eliminate them prior to releasing the beast to the unsuspecting public. -- Duncan (-: "software industry, the: unique industry where selling substandard goods is legal and you can charge extra for fixing the problems." (Log in to post comments)
Changelogs are more useful than version numbers Posted Jan 17, 2003 19:11 UTC (Fri) by socket (subscriber, #43) [Link] I run Debian on my laptop, and I've got apt configured so that whenever I do an upgrade, the changelogs for the new versions are shown before the packages are actually installed - and then mailed to root. (apt-get install apt-listchanges)Sometimes, you can gain a fair amount of insight into the program by looking at the changelogs, but it often depends on the quality of the changelogs. Changelogs need to be specific. If a program reaches version 3.0, it really is more useful to know what specifically the developer did before releasing the new version. I can't audit all the code on my system, of course, but I like to know what I'm doing. On that note, I have a recommendation for everybody who uses computers - whether you're a developer, administrator, or user - keep a notebook. Write down the date and time, and then a note about whatever you just changed, learned, or want your computer to do. You can come back to it later, and it doesn't involve batteries, so if your system crashes, you can still use it to figure out what you were using, and what's happened. Whenever I change a configuration file, I make a note of that change - when I try out a new package, I write down what it is and what my opinion of it is. Number the pages, and keep an index of topics in the back so you can find things easily. You don't have to write down *everything,* just anything you think you might need to know later. And it's much better to have it in a bound, unlined blank book so you don't lose pages as often as you lose sticky-notes. --Chris Riddoch, Boulder Linux Users Group.
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