[FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH] version.sh: Always use latest tag for generated version number

[Timothy Gu]

On Thu, Mar 03, 2016 at 11:04:09PM +0000, Carl Eugen Hoyos wrote:
> Timo Rothenpieler <timo <at> rothenpieler.org> writes:
> 
> > So instead of
> > 
> > N-78885-g966eade
> 
> The continuous numbering scheme is very convenient when 
> answering user questions and it reflects very well the 
> (past and current) development model of FFmpeg that is 
> not release-driven ...

Do I understand correctly that FFmpeg in the future will not version releases
backwards? If that is the case, then the "continuous" bit is a nonissue.

The argument on development model is unrelated to discussion.

> 
> > 
> > One now gets
> > 
> > n3.1-dev-422-g966eade
> 
> ... while I personally find this slightly ugly.

Users seem to disagree. One example of such a complaint is
http://willus.com/author/ffmpegbmark.shtml:

    **I continue to be frustrated** with the nightly-build ffmpeg version
    numbering. . . . It would be nice if the nightly builds gave some
    indication of what major and minor version release they are related to,
    even if it's a snapshot build. A version number like N-46936-g8b6aeb1 is
    **meaningless to me (and to most other users, I imagine)**. Why is this so
    hard? This is where avconv.exe does much better, giving a more
    intelligible version number like v9_beta2-255-gb9629ac.

    (some emphasis is mine)

Using the version also comes with other advantages. It is now a lot easier to
check if a certain feature is available in a build by looking at the Changelog
(which records release versions, not N-based revision numbers).

Of course, this argument operates on the premise that making things easier for
users is of utmost concern for us. Please inspire me if this is not the case.

Timothy