Re: GNU Libtool 2.2.6b released

[Jeff Squyres]

On Nov 16, 2009, at 7:21 AM, Peter O'Gorman wrote:

> We are intending to release 2.2.8 sometime (hopefully soon) with all  
> the new features and lots of bug fixes from git HEAD.

So why not call this release 2.2.8 and bump the version number of the  
next one to 2.2.10?  Is it technically difficult to do so?

I ask because version numbers are primarily for users -- not  
developers.  So a little developer discomfort to rename specific  
releases is (IMHO) acceptable in order to provide a clear, unambiguous  
meaning of the version number to users.

> This release only contains two bugfixes to libltdl that were deemed  
> important enough to warrant a separate release from the "stable"  
> 2.2.6 series.


Understood.

My only point is that the last 2 public releases of LT have had  
semantically different meanings of the version number.  It is  
therefore VERY unclear that 2.2.6b is a significant security/bug fix  
release (even if the actual changes are minor).  If I (a random user)  
saw that LT released 2.2.6b but didn't read anything in the notes, I'd  
assume that it was another packaging change, like 2.2.6a was.  I  
certainly would not immediately grok that it contains a security update.

OTOH, if the LT version number was bumped to 2.2.8 -- or even 2.4 -- I  
would assume that most users will think, "Something important must  
have changed.  I should go a) read the release notes, and b) install  
this update." (all normal disclaimers on the word "assume", of  
course ;-) ).

My $0.02: the version number of a package is a critical method of  
communication to the rest of the world.  It needs to have clear,  
unambiguous meaning.  The last 2 releases of LT have significantly  
muddied the waters as to what the 3rd field in the LT version number  
means.

Can you clarify what exactly the minor number and suffix mean in the  
LT version number (for the purposes of understanding future releases)?

Sidenote: it's easy for email threads like this to get sidetracked  
into flamewars.  Please understand that I'm a long-time/loyal LT user  
and greatly appreciate all your efforts -- I'm *NOT* trying to start a  
flamewar.  I sent this email (and the emails back when 2.2.6a was  
released) not to be a jerk, but rather to ask a genuine user- 
perspective question and hopefully get some clarity for the future.

Thanks!

--
Jeff Squyres
address@hidden