Re: svn repo and updates (was Re: [Chicken-users] Re: objc egg v0.4

[Thomas Chust]

On Mon, 30 Jan 2006, PeterBusser wrote:

> Hi!
>
> > generally I consider it a bad idea to change something without
> > incrementing the version number. Of course one could for example agree on
> > using at least three level version numbers and only uploading to the web
> > when the first or second level changes -- but I don't know whether
> > everybody wants to follow such a scheme.
> > [...]
>
> The revision control system (SVN in this case) already keeps track of
> each change and gives each one a unique number. For those who use SVN,
> these numbers are more relevant than the version numbers.
>
> Each upload to the web should have a unique number. For the Adamantix 
> packages, I use a simple counter. I.e. the first upload is 1, the 2nd 2, 
> etc. No fancy two or three level numbering scheme, because most of the 
> time they don't mean anything anyway. If numbers are abitrary anyway, 
> then why not choose the most convenient arbitrary number?
> [...]

Hello,

sure enough SVN has a repository revision number but there are several 
reasons why I like to keep my own version number around:

   * The SVN revision is repository-global, therefore it is always the same
     for all eggs. I prefer to have a status indicator local to my egg.

   * The SVN revision bumps with every commit and is just an integer. I
     prefer to bump my own version numbers with every progressing change
     and I like to use structured version numbers with a meaning of
     incompatible_changes.visible_changes.small_patches.

     For the transition from one stable state of a project to the next one
     I may require several commit / rollback cycles, causing my version
     numbers to jump strangely. For me the ability to snapshot a given
     state and return to it or merge parts of it back into the current one
     are the most important features of version control. But I only want
     the egg with the new version published once it's stable.

   * Last but not least SVN is not the only version control system around.
     Should the need ever arise to switch to a different system, I still
     have my own version counter which stays the same ;)

But all these points are more a matter of taste and I wouldn't want to 
force other people to adopt my style of software development, which 
everyone is free to find totally crazy if she likes.

I think that a web interface for managing egg releases could offer the 
greatest flexibility of automated solutions, though.

cu,
Thomas