RE: New field proposed, UUID
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ben Collins [mailto:bcollins@debian.org]
>
> > The "easy" answer to that is that the version should
> automatically get
> > bumped for user builds much like the kernel compile # is
> for Linux. The
> > maintainers, when generating an "official" version, can
> specify the exact
> > version when they compile the package, but it should
> automatically increment
> > for user builds. Possibly not the "main" version number,
> but a sub-version
> > number or equivalent.
> >
>
> So you think it's easy to force users to generate a unique
> version number?
> How are you going to do that? If you make a debian developer pass a
> special arg, how are you going to keep users from using the
> same thing?
The user generated unique version number would be automatic, so we wouldn't
need to force users to do anything. Yes, users would be able to override
the version number of a package, but they can do this now. We need not
protect the determined from self-inflicted pain, but we should protect the
inexperienced from making simple mistakes (like not bumping the version
number when they make a custom package).
THEORETICALLY, if a user downloads the source and does a simple compile they
SHOULD get the same binaries produced as the developer did. This assumes
that they are using the standard compiler and libraries in the particular
distribution version, but I think that is a reasonable assumption. I also
think it's reasonable to assume that the only REASON a user would want/need
to produce a custom binary would be if they are changing something from what
the developer did in the official release. Perhaps it is precisely because
they upgraded to a newfangled unstable compiler or zippy new library (which
happened to include security issues). If that's the case then it's only
appropriate that they bump the version number, automatically or not, as the
binaries produced would be a different "version."
> Obviously it's not so easy, or it would already be done.
I think it just hasn't been brought up before or discussed in such detail,
but I may be wrong. I see no reason why you wouldn't want to automatically
bump the version number and every reason why you should.
Fred Reimer
Eclipsys Corporation
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