[meego-packaging] package version and his control

[Jeremiah Foster]

On Jul 8, 2010, at 14:03, <fathi.boudra at nokia.com> wrote:

>> I think it is crazy.
>> What is qt-4.7.0-0.22.beta1+git3839+e720c26? 
> 
> No, it isn't :) on Debian, I would have used 4.7.0~beta1+git3839+e720c26

Just because you would have used it doesn't mean it isn't crazy, and it also doesn't mean you are following Debian's packaging policy. As you can see from their policy: http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Version you are not compliant.

> Thanks to Arjan, it seems we could use tilde for MeeGo.

Always good to see to standards moving closer. ;)

> 
>> The 4.7.0 is the version number of Qt I assume.
> 
> No, the version number is 4.7.0 beta 1 git $(unique identifier returned by git describe)

Totally unnecessary in this scenario.
> 
>> Drop the beta, drop the git version, and drop the really, really confusing hex at the end.
> 
> This is a git snapshot post beta 1, why do you want to omit this information ?

Because it serves no purpose. If you are packaging a 'beta' product, you can explain that inside either packaging format (rpm or deb). This is not something you encode in the version string. Secondly, how does a unique git number help anyone aside from the packager? Remember you are creating packages for public consumption by scripts and humans, not for yourself.

Jeremiah