On Fri, Apr 25, 2003 at 12:33:12AM +1000, Hamish Moffatt wrote: > Chapter 4 of policy 3.5.9.0 (version numbering) doesn't mention dpkg's > magic ~ character in version strings, which was implemented in June 2002 > (according to dpkg's changelog.Debian.gz.) > > In fact I couldn't find a single package in unstable which is using it, > though I still see packages using the old ugly tricks like Samba's > 2.99+3.00alpha23 .. > > The ~ character deliberately has low sorting order, so 3.00~alpha23 < > 3.00. > > Am I free to use it?
I think not, for instance because apt doesn't support it yet (see the changelog in http://people.debian.org/~doogie/apt/). As I remember, the discussions surrounding the introduction of ~ wanted a stable release between its implementation in the tools and the start of its use in packages, too. > Please CC me as I'm not subscribed (M-F-T is set correctly). It wasn't set at all apparently, but done. -- Colin Watson [EMAIL PROTECTED]
