LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Michael Wardle <wardle@adacel.com.au>
  To  : Richard Sharpe <sharpe@ns.aus.com>
        <LinuxSA@linuxsa.org.au>
  Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 11:11:51 +1000

Re: RedHat using even and odd version numbers ...

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Sharpe" <sharpe@ns.aus.com>
To: <LinuxSA@linuxsa.org.au>
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2001 8:14 PM
Subject: RedHat using even and odd version numbers ...


> Hi,
>
> Someone has made the following assertion:
>
>   >1. The Official version numbering system which RedHat Inc.
implements
>   >(the same as the kernel) is known as "even/odd", with even minor
numbers
>   >denote stable releases and odd - development releases. RH7.1 is not
>   >considered to be a stable release.
>
> This sounds like absolute crap. I have never heard this with respect
to
> RedHat.

His assertion was incorrect.  This versioning scheme applies to the
Linux kernel, but not to Red Hat's distribution.

Red Hat Linux's version number scheme is something like this:
A release in which binary compatibility is broken, (for instance where
the core c libraries and the compiler (or other such major components)
are upgraded is a major release.  Any other official releases (usually
bug fixes and small features) are minor releases.  As usual, for major
releases, the number before the decimal point is changed (e.g. 6 -> 7),
and for minor releases, the number after the decimal point is changed
(e.g. 7.0 -> 7.1)