Hi Jim C. Nasby wrote:
I understand the argument about metadata and all, and largely agree with it. But on the other hand I think a version identifier is a critical piece of information; it's just as critical as the file name when it comes to identifying the information contained in the file.
If you really want the files in your releases to carry a version identifier, you should let your release process handle that. But often enough, people can't even tell the exact PostgreSQL version they are running. How do you expect them to be able to tell you what version a single file has?
For the developers: they have all the history the VCS offers them. There are tags to associate a release with a revision in your repository. And because a decent VCS can handle all the diff'ing, patching and merging you normally need, you shouldn't ever have to process files outside of your repository.
So what exactly is the purpose of a version identifier within the file's contents? For whom could such a thing be good for?
Regards Markus ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 3: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq