Versioning

Dear all,

 

I don’t know if it is helpful for the discussion on versioning, but in
various contributions I have the feeling that people are talking about
different aspects of versioning. It seems to me that we’re not always very
explicit about what we mean by the terms ‘version’.

 

Below I am trying to distinguish various sub-classes of versioning that may
require different approaches or ‘best practices’.

 

Superseding:

 

Content and structure might be very different but the publisher wants you to
use the current resource rather than a resource that preceded it. The URL
stays the same while the content changes although the broad intention of the
content stays the same.

 

Examples:

•                    Today’s website (or, more general, web resource) versus
last week’s (Memento);

•                    Latest version link, e.g. latest published draft of BP
http://www.w3.org/TR/dwbp/.

 

Following:

 

The type of content is the same but it covers a different time period. Both
the new and the old data remain valid. (NB: spatial series, e.g. the same
kind of data for different regions, are similar to temporal series in many
respects.)

 

Examples:

•                    Sequences of annual budgets;

•                    Daily meteorological observations;

•                    Periodical census data.

 

Modifying:

 

Content, structure and data points are the same to some extent but the data
may have been updated or data may have been added.

 

Examples:

•             Correcting errors in values of data points, e.g. resulting
from quality control or user feedback;

•             Adding data points, e.g. if measurements from different
measuring devices come in at different times but belong together;

•             Updating values, e.g. in a Year-to-date file.

 

Adapting:

 

Content and structure are essentially the same but in different contexts.

 

Examples:

•             Translations of text fields or labels;

•             Conversion of co-ordinate system;

•             Conversions of measures, e.g. ºC to ºF, imperial units to SI;

•             Changes in granularity.

 

Should we somehow take such distinctions into account or should we lump them
all together?