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All the Perl that's Practical to Extract and Report

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"What's the version number got to do with anything?" 4 Comments More | Login | Reply /

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  • This has come up a few times on Perlmonks.org, like this one [perlmonks.org]. I think people should just start at 1.0. A version number of 1.0 means "first release", not "I will never change this again." I hear people say they don't want to go to 1.0 because they feel it is a promise that the API is set in stone, but that doesn't seem to stop commercial vendors, and realistically there will never be a time when you know the interface is perfect. I have witnessed non-Perl people freaking out over sub-1.0 version numbers
    • It would be a mistake, I think, to start at 1.0.

      Lying about "going 1.0" is almost as bad.

      Commercial vendors regularly put out a shit half-finished barely working release and marketing calls it 1.0.

      The open source world _generally_ (there are of course exceptions) only goes 1.0 once it's truly "stable".

      That is both a plus, and means you will get held to a higher standard.

      And people using Open Source software are going to be much more annoyed when you 1.0 release changes 30 times before you get to version 5.3
      • It's not "lying" to release something as 1.0 unless you had some agreement about 1.0 means and it isn't meeting that. As a result of the practices you're describing, I think most people expect 1.0 to mean it works but still has a long way to go. Among the manager crowd that you're discussing, people will often say that 1.0 is too new to try, and they'll wait for the point release.

        • Re:I agree (Score:1)

          by Alias (5735) on 2006.05.23 20:47 (#47817) Homepage Journal
          While it may not be written down, merely by the fact it's a CPAN module you are going to inherit by default an implicit agreement that 1.00 is "stable".

          And I agree with the 1.00 thing, which is why I move from 0.12 to 1.13, but only when it's _really_ stable.

          It's accurate and keeps everyone happy.
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