From pgilbert@bank-banque-canada.ca  Mon Oct 28 15:10:13 2002
From: pgilbert@bank-banque-canada.ca (Paul Gilbert)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 10:10:13 -0500
Subject: RFC: no automatic updates of packages with major version change
References: <Pine.LNX.4.21.0210281107130.7939-100000@artemis> <Pine.LNX.4.31.0210281124270.6985-100000@gannet.stats> <pvcqru8mhqodgt4gpks5p7qaksar88nifk@4ax.com>
Message-ID: <3DBD5355.59B59755@bank-banque-canada.ca>

> >Now, we could throw the onus on the maintainers to add a
> >
> >BackwardsCompatible:FALSE
> >
> >flag to the DESCRIPTION file, if people really think that would be easier.

> But instead of "FALSE", I'd rather see the earliest compatible version
> number listed.  For example, if 1.0, 2.0 and 2.1 are all compatible,
> all versions could say
> 
>  BackwardsCompatibleTo:  1.0

I like this better too. To be safe, it is better to assume no backwards
compatibility unless it is indicate. Thus, if the line is omitted in the latter
case, then there is no guarantee, and in the former case the line should be

BackwardsCompatible:TRUE

with the default being FALSE.

Another thing that may be worth distinguishing is whether this means a library
is thought to be backward compatible, or tested to be backward compatible (and
perhaps tested on which versions of R). With respect to Depends: ( R > ?? ) I
admit to being somewhat delinquent in this respect. I change the R version if I
know something has changed, but I rarely test with old versions, and when I do
it is certainly only on one operating system.

Paul Gilbert
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RFC: no automatic updates of packages with major version change
Paul Gilbert