Re: debian version ID
On Mon 01 Aug 2016 at 02:56:54 (-0400), Felix Miata wrote:
> Will someone please explain (or point to, since it's not in release notes), why:
>
> 1: /etc/os-release (in Jessie at least) does not include the point
> release version as represented by /etc/debian_version
/etc/os-release is an outward-facing file designed for programs to
find out what distribution of linux is running here. As far as they
are concerned, each Debian version is a rolling release so the point
number is meaningless. Why would you want it?
/etc/debian_version is an inward-facing file for system administrators
and installers. Really, it only interests the latter because even the
point versions are rolling releases between points.
If you're installing a new system, the point release will at least
tell you whether it's worth downloading a new d-i iso or if you've
got the latest there is. Not much more.
If you need Debian 7, it's easy enough to install it. If you think you
need Debian 7.3, you're probably going to have trouble working out just
what versions of all the packages were available on December 14th, 2013.
Cheers,
David.
Reply to: