/etc/debian_version - the penny drops

[David Jardine <david@jardine.de>]

When upgrading to Sarge, I was asked if I wanted to keep my old 
entry in /etc/debian_version or have it replaced by the package's 
version.  

I was surprised to see that the default was to keep the old entry 
(which explains why people using the --assume-yes option would 
not see a change).

As someone recently pointed out (but far too cryptically for me 
to understand the implications), the entry is whatever you want 
it to be.  It can be written (and used in scripts) by the 
administrator of the system who can use whatever terminology he 
or she likes to in order to define the characteristics of the 
system.

Sorry if that's obvious to most of you, but I think at least one 
person was as confused as I was.

Hope that helps someone,
David

-- 
David Jardine

"Running Debian GNU/Linux and
loving every minute of it."  -L. von Sacher-M.(1835-1895)