[Libreoffice-qa] New Bugzilla Version Picker items – 2

[Petr Mladek]

On Thu, 2012-06-07 at 17:25 +0200, Bjoern Michaelsen wrote:
> Just as an hint. Ubuntu/Debian would use something like:
> 
>  3.6.0~alpha1
>  3.6.0~alpha1+daily20120606 
>  3.6.0~beta1
>  3.6.0.1

I really like it. I would like to use it in the future for git tags and
source tarballs.

The problem might be the tilda '~'. It is substituted to $HOME in linux
shell. I am not sure about other special meaning in some programing
languages or so.

Before we change it, we need to make sure that we do not break other
distributors. So, I have added the developer mailing list and several
distro packagers into CC.

IMPORTANT: Please, replay if you do not like the above scheme or if you
have even better solution.





Background:
===========

We currently use two version schemes in LibreOffice:

1. About dialog:
----------------

It has to be user friendly. Last release candidate is the final build,
so we must not mention "RC" in the version. The current scheme is:

	+ 3.X.Y alphaZ   - for alpha release
	+ 3.X.Y betaZ    - for beta releases
        + 3.X.Y.Z        - for release candidates; the last one is final

, where Y is the number of the bugfix release


2. git tags and source packages
-------------------------------

It needs to have correct alpha-numeric sorting. Otherwise, new versions
are not correctly handled by package managers, e.g. rpm, dpkg, zypper,
apt. The current scheme is:

       + 3.X-1.98.Z        - for 3.X.0 alpha releases, e.g. 3.5.98.1
       + 3.X-1.99.Z        - for 3.X.0 beta releases, e.g. 3.5.99.1
       + 3.X.Y.Z           - for 3.release candidates, e.g. 3.6.0.1

, where Y is the number of the bugfix release.


PROBLEM: The two version schemes are schizophrenic and could cause
confusion. In addition, bugzilla needs both alpha-numeric sorting and
user friendly meaning.

We either need to mention both versions in the about dialog and bugzilla
or come up with a better scheme that would be good for both purposes.

There are two more proposals:


3. Rainers:
-----------

	+ 3.X.Y.00Z   - for alpha releases
	+ 3.X.Y.0Z0   - for beta releases
	+ 3.X.Y.Z00   - for release candidates

The alpha-numeric sorting is correct. It is clearly associated with the
3.X release because there is no "X-1" number.

The problem is that it is not evident that .00Z is alpha, and .0Z0 is
beta. They are limited to 9 alpha and 9 beta builds. Also, I have newer
seen it anywhere else, so people are not familiar with it.


4. Ubuntu/Debian:
-----------------

	+ 3.X.Y~alphaZ   - for alpha releases
	+ 3.X.Y~betaZ    - for beta releases
	+ 3.X.Y.Z        - for release candidates

I really like this solution. It seems to have everything. We just need
to make sure that the tilda '~' is handled correctly and does not break
some tools.

It seems that RPM handles it correctly. I am going to check Build
service, and zypper.

Best Regards,
Petr