(debian-policy.info)Version numbers based on dates

---

Next: Uniqueness of version numbers Up: The version of a package

---

Enter node , (file) or (file)node

3.2.1 Version numbers based on dates
------------------------------------

In general, Debian packages should use the same version numbers as the
upstream sources.  However, upstream version numbers based on some date
formats (sometimes used for development or “snapshot” releases) will not
be ordered correctly by the package management software.  For example,
‘dpkg’ will consider “96May01” to be greater than “96Dec24”.

To prevent having to use epochs for every new upstream version, the
date-based portion of any upstream version number should be given in a
way that sorts correctly: four-digit year first, followed by a two-digit
numeric month, followed by a two-digit numeric date, possibly with
punctuation between the components.

Native Debian packages (i.e., packages which have been written
especially for Debian) whose version numbers include dates should also
follow these rules.  If punctuation is desired between the date
components, remember that hyphen (‘-’) cannot be used in native package
versions.  Period (‘.’) is normally a good choice.