Software versioning

Version numbers are different versions of a single software to get the results to delineate anreihender development cycles against each other.

The version number is the basis for the version management. The process of giving the version number is called versioning.

Structure and meaning

A classic version number is composed frequently:

Example of the second version of a program in the 3rd and the 5th minor version error correction, Build 0041:

2.3.5-0041 │ │ │ └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ build number │ │ └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ revision number │ └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ minor version number └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ major version number Each of these version numbers can consist of multiple digits. For example, follows the version 0.9 when only the minor version increases, 0:10 and not 1.0. For some programs, therefore the minor version number is two digits or contains a leading zero if expected to more than ten versions of this kind is (example: 0.09).

Often, the major version is with the number 0 an exception in that larger changes are possible even with an increase in the minor version.

There are basically for the meaning of the values ​​, however, no fixed rules, rather, quasi- standards have been established: .. Among NET is followed, for example, the scheme of dissenting . . ( reversed position for revision number and build number ).

And a software version at any time is also said to build. The build number is used in many projects increased independently of the other numbers and not reset. For example, there is in Microsoft Windows two product lines: in the series Windows 95 are the builds 950 (Windows 95 ), 1998 (Windows 98) and 2222 (Windows 98 SE ) is known in the series Windows NT, these are the builds 1381 (Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6 ), 2600 ( Windows XP), 6000 (Windows Vista) and 7600 ( Windows 7).

It is often - especially in open-source software - the case that there are the version numbers of programs or systems prior to the version 1.x. However, This does not necessarily indicate that the development is not yet well advanced, but rather that the version has not yet achieved its goal by the developers and who is still in development. Sometimes there are even open-source programs - are still yet versioned below Version 1.0 - even though they have long since left the alpha and beta status.

A version number is often cited by the program name, and sometimes by "v. " or "V" ( for version) specially marked.

Marketing aspects

For software development are version numbers a much more important information than the customer dar. Using the version numbers can be ensured, among other things, that in groups of developers new program components are not overwritten with older (see Versioning ).

In larger software projects is waived under certain circumstances from a marketing point of the internal, more technically motivated versioning, which then results in version name ( "Windows XP" corresponds, for example, "Windows NT 5.1" ) from which the version sequence can no longer be readily recognizable. For marketing reasons, it may also be to skip version numbers come to no lower version (which as can be " older " interpreted ) to have them as competitors. This was the case for example in WinWord, whose version of 2.0 jumped to 6.0, and Slackware. Even with a variety of software from the same manufacturer, there may be similar cases, such as the first version of Windows NT Windows NT 3.1 was named because it came on the market 3.1 to Windows. In "Windows 7" was ( " Windows NT 6.1 " ) deviated from technical and psychological reasons of the internal version number.

Also are other ways to distinguish versions of each other, used since they are easier to remember:

  • Dates, for example: Windows 95;
  • Alphanumeric identifier, for example: Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Flash MX;
  • Code name, for example: Mac OS X Tiger;
  • Years and months; such as the version number of the Ubuntu distribution of the last digit of the year and the month of the show is made. For example, Ubuntu 6:04 ( for 2006.04 = April 2006).
  • The version number of TeX approaches to π; the e METAFONT the Euler number

Supplements

Depending on the stage of development of the software, there are supplements:

GIMP .NET Framework
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