[CentOS-devel] Confusing package versioning

[Karanbir Singh]

On 05/04/2011 02:35 PM, Ned Slider wrote:
> Hi Johnny et al.,
>
> I'd like to raise a query relating to recent package versioning.
>
> For example, CentOS recently released the following updates:
>
> httpd-2.2.3-45.el5.centos.1.src.rpm
> selinux-policy-2.4.6-300.el5_6.1.src.rpm
>
> relating to the upstream packages:
>
> httpd-2.2.3-45.el5_6.1.src.rpm
> selinux-policy-2.4.6-300.el5_6.1.src.rpm
>
> which IMHO is confusing.

not really. the .el5_6 is the distag from upstream, for all centos mod 
packages since 2005 or so we've used the .el<blah>.centos as the 
disttag. Comes back to the whole argument of what is a disttag and why 
its there. Upstream uses it to indicate something - we just try and stay 
consistent with it.

> In the case of selinux-policy (and others) CentOS rigorously follows the
> upstream versioning, yet for httpd the versioning is different.

thats because httpd is a changed package. It also means that the tests 
against the packages are a bit easier than they would be for something 
that isnt modified by us.

> In such cases, would editing the SPEC file release line be the lesser of
> two evils?

maybe but it would convey the wrong message.

- KB