linux-kernel - Re: [RFC] Kernel version numbering scheme change

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Date:	Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:57:38 +0200
From:	"Rafael J. Wysocki" <rjw@...k.pl>
To:	david@...g.hm
Cc:	Jiri Kosina <jkosina@...e.cz>, Greg KH <greg@...ah.com>,
	Alan Cox <alan@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>,
	Steven Noonan <steven@...inklabs.net>,
	Adrian Bunk <bunk@...nel.org>,
	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [RFC] Kernel version numbering scheme change

On Sunday, 19 of October 2008, david@...g.hm wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Oct 2008, Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> 
> > On Sunday, 19 of October 2008, david@...g.hm wrote:
> >> On Sun, 19 Oct 2008, Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Sunday, 19 of October 2008, Jiri Kosina wrote:
> >>>> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008, david@...g.hm wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>>> Surely some scripts will start to break as soon as the third number gets
> >>>>>> three digits.
> >>>>> we've had three digit numbers in the third position before (2.3 and 2.5
> >>>>> went well past three digits IIRC)
> >>>>
> >>>> Did we? I only recall 2.5.7[something] and 2.3.5[something] (plus special
> >>>> 2.3.99 release).
> >>>>
> >>>>>> Actually, I thought we could continue to use a w.x.y.z numbering
> >>>>>> scheme, but in such a way that:
> >>>>>> w = ($year - 2000) / 10 + 2 (so that we start from 2)
> >>>>>> x = $year % 10
> >>>>>> y = (number of major release in $year)
> >>>>>> z = (number of stable version for major release w.x.y)
> >>>>>> Then, the first major release in 2009 would be 2.9.1 and its first
> >>>>>> -stable "child" would become 2.9.1.1.  In turn, the first major
> >>>>>> release in 2010 could be 3.0.1 and so on.
> >>>>> if you want the part of the version number to increment based on the year,
> >>>>> just make it the year and don't complicate things.
> >>>>
> >>>> In addition to that, having the kernel version dependent on year doesn't
> >>>> really seem to make much sense to me. Simply said, I don't see any
> >>>> relation of kernel source code contents to the current date in whatever
> >>>> calendar system.
> >>>>
> >>>> And 2.x+1.y-rcZ+1 immediately following 2.x.y-rcZ really hurts my eyes :)
> >>>
> >>> Hm, why would that happen?
> >>
> >> with the date based numbers, that was one of the things that 'could'
> >> happen as the year changed (2008.5.0-rc4 would be followed by
> >> 2009.1.0-rc5)
> >
> > Well, in that case I think it would be reasonable to cuntinue the 2008
> > numbering so that 2009.1.0-rc5 in your example would still be 2008.5.0-rc5.
> >
> > That said, I kind of agree that the numbering need not be time-related.  One
> > alternative might be to release 2.9.0 instead of 2.6.29 and then continue in
> > in such a way that each of the three numbers is always a one-digit decimal.
> > Then, we'd have 2.9.0, 2.9.1 ... 2.9.9, 3.0.0, 3.0.1 etc.
> 
> so how would you do the -stable releases?

In the same way as they are done now, ie. 2.9.0.1, 2.9.0.2 etc.  I don't think
there's any problem with having 2.9.1.33 for example. ;-)

Thanks,
Rafael
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