Re: [ ACTION-107] Updating version list identifier algorithm

On Wed, 19 Sep 2007, Marcos Caceres wrote:
> > 
> > In any case, I would recommend not parsing versons at all. Just treat 
> > them as opaque strings, and assume that there is an upgrade if the 
> > version on the server doesn't match the version in the client.
>
> I could live with this, but it still makes me uncomfortable. What 
> happens if I accidentally override a new version with an old version by 
> mistake and don't realize it for a few days?... or, I've uploaded a new 
> version and lots of people download it, then a hard disk on my server 
> crashes and the ISP auto-recovers an old version, and then all my users 
> start re-downloading the old version?
 
Understood. However, I think that would rarely happen (though I cannot
prove it). As you would say. :-)

We've had two failure scenarios mentioned here:

 * upload the wrong version number in an update

 * upload the wrong version of the code

Both seem unlikely to be a common case, but let's consider the worst case 
end results in the two proposed models:

                  |  Version must increase  |   Version must differ   |
                  |        to upgrade       |        to upgrade       |
  ----------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
   Upload wrong   | All future versions of  | No problem.             |
   version number | the widget will have    | Next release can have   |
                  | ridiculously high       | correct version number. |
                  | version number.         |                         |
  ----------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
   Upload old     | No problem. Just upload | Some users may download |
   package        | new version again.      | an older version. To    |
                  |                         | fix, upload latest      |
                  |                         | package. No permanent   |
                  |                         | problems.               |
  ----------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+

Only one of these boxes shows a serious problem, IMHO.

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/       U+263A                /,   _.. \   _\  ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just take longer.   `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

Received on Wednesday, 19 September 2007 03:08:44 UTC