Re: Debian testing - release number
On Thu 05 Jul 2018 at 14:08:21 (-0400), Greg Wooledge wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 05, 2018 at 12:57:34PM -0500, David Wright wrote:
> > On Thu 05 Jul 2018 at 12:42:36 (-0400), Greg Wooledge wrote:
> > > On Thu, Jul 05, 2018 at 11:06:22AM -0500, David Wright wrote:
> > > > But if you're a sysadmin who has a script that wants/needs a version
> > > > *number* for any reason, then /etc/debian_version is the safest file
> > > > to modify.
> > >
> > > I strongly disagree. The safest file to modify would be the broken
> > > shell script that needs a "release number".
> >
> > Would you explain what is unsafe about it and why /etc/debian_version
> > is a configuration file, or offer a sensible alternative.
>
> Your hypothetical case describes a shell script that is supposed to
> detect what version of Debian it's running on, for whatever reason.
>
> If this script doesn't know how to handle the string "testing/unstable"
> then it's doing a really crappy job of "supporting" Debian systems.
Hmm, I struggle to see the connection between what I asked for and
what you wrote. From your later post, I guess the answer is that
editing /etc/debian_version risks provoking expletives from other
users of the system.
That said, I do agree with what you wrote.
Cheers,
David.
Reply to: