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General Information: Version Numbers

Version Number Layout

Version number usually consist of three digits. A change in the first digit indicates a major enhancement, a change in the second digit indicates a feature update, and a change in the third digit indicates a bug fix or a correction. If just the last digit changes, there is usually no change in the user interface or in the application layout, it's just a fix in the application code that the user normaly can't see or recognize. If the third digit of the version number is a zero (0) is it usually dropped. So "My Application v5.3.0" is called "My Application v5.3", or "Second Application v7.0.0" is called "Second Application v7.0".

If you also release beta versions or development versions, you can also put that beta number behind the version number, starting with an "d" (development) or "b" (beta).

For example "My Application v5.3.2b5" tells the user:

• This application had 5 major updates or enhancements.


• There have been three minor updates since version v5.0.


• You did 2 bug fixes in version v5.3.


• And it is the 5th beta version of v5.3.2.

Application and File Names

You should also use these version number in the file names of your applications. This helps, especially on large CD-ROM collections, to find the most recent version.

For example I catalogued all of my applications in a kind of file database, and when I search for a specific file, it's allways fine to get version number in the search results.

You should also include the version number in the file names on your FTP site. If your application is named "My Application" and the version number is v5.3.2, the FTP file name should be "my-application-532.sit.hqx". In this case the dots inside the version number are usually removed.

Annotations

If you have any annotations about version numbers, please let me know. Just send an e-mail to mkahlert@kagi.com.