How to pick new version number?

[office politics]

I'm wondering how do you choose a version number for code revisions.

when to move from 0 to 1? then 1 to 2? or 1 to 1.1?

 

[Yami]

You just choose whatever you want. Generally major releases warrant rounded, simple numbers (for example Firefox 3.5), while more minor releases will have longer numbers (Firefox 3.5.3).

Numbers before 1 are nearly always alpha- or beta-versions, with 1 being the 'final release'

 

[wafflehammer]

A.B.C

C - Minor things like bug fixes, changing layouts..maybe adding a thing or two (probably stuff most people wouldn't notice)

B - Major changes that effect it as a whole that everyone would notice like adding special features, options, etc

A - Adding something to the core program that basically changes everything around..IE making it a "new" program worthy of a "new" version number

Oh yea, if A is 0 then that's usually a sign it's still in a beta phase(i'm sure you know this lol)

At least that's how I'd do it.

 

[Spit-wad]

Basically what waffle said.

[Big changes, almost a whole "new" program].[Updates, adding features, etc].[Bug fixes, small changes to the updates just added, etc]

 

[kmote]

Pretty much as above. Typically version numbers that distinguish most significant changes are towards the left eg [most significant].[significant].[insignificant] and triggers for incrementing these might be [incompatibility with previous releases e.g. client-server].[added features, important bug fixes].[minor bug fixes e.g. performance/usability/graphical enhancements]

 

[networkingnewb]

There is no set pattern, though most tend to use the major.minor.bug map. Ubuntu releases a version of it's o/s every 6 months. 8.04 was the last LTS (Long Term Support) version and has since been replaced by 8.10, 9.04, 9.10 and now 10.04 is the current LTS and most recent version (which I am running at the moment actually).

Their releases are dated rather than using the norm. 8.04 came out in April, 2008 while 8.10 came out in October, 2008. Their format is more close to [years after 2000] . [month in mm format]

Really it doesn't matter what you call them, as long as you keep them. It helps organize bug fixes. Someone calls you that is using your program without a version number and you have no idea how to help them. That's why most releases will come with a new version number and a changelog to let you know exactly what they did to make it run smooth. Think back to a game you play online that flashes a changelog and it lists upgrades to their inventory in shops, or fixed a missing floor that caused you to get stuck under the map--has happened to me in an xbox360 game recently, I hooked up to xbox live and downloaded the patched version and it was fixed (was funny because I actually found where the hole was and purposely did it a few times).

I'm rambling now and have been for a while but I hope you can scrape something out of all this.