Re: Interpreting package version number
On Wed 16 Jan 2019 at 10:46:58 (-0500), Roberto C. Sánchez wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 16, 2019 at 08:51:27AM -0600, Richard Owlett wrote:
> > On 01/16/2019 07:58 AM, songbird wrote:
> > > Richard Owlett wrote:
> > >
> > > > I'm running Stretch and have just installed Tcl from repository.
> > > > Synaptic reports the installed version is 8.6.6+dfsg-1+b1 .
> > > > The current upstream version is 8.6.9 .
> > > >
> > > > I don't understand what "+dfsg-1+b1" is telling me.
> > > > Where is that numbering scheme described?
> > > >
> > > > My goal is to understand (from upstream docs) how what I have installed
> > > > differs from the current upstream version.
> > >
> > > if you want to know what is different in any
> > > debian package you can download the source code
> > > package and look at the patches it applies.
> > >
> >
> > IIUC "dfsg" tells me that Debian chose a different means to the same
> > functional end (User's POV) than how upstream accomplished it.
> >
> Sort of. The reason for a "dfsg" repack of the upstream source is
> usually to remove some components that may not be permitted to
> distribute. These might include binary blobs which cannot be generated
> from source, non-free documentation (some protocol libraries include
> copies of the RFCs they implement and those RFCs are sometimes not
> freely redistributable).
>
> I have yet to encounter a "dfsg" repack that changes the functionality
> of the package, though. So, in that regard your statement is correct.
Well, it can involve spinning out some of the functionality to a
different package, as has been done with p7zip-rar for example.
Cheers,
David.
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