release-cycle

I distribute software online, and always wonder if there is a proper way to better define version numbers. Let's assume A.B.C.D in the answers. When do you increase each of the components? Do you use any other version number tricks such as D mod 2 == 1 means it is an in house release only? Do you have beta releases with their own version numbers, or do you have beta releases per version number? I'm starting to like the Year.Release[.Build] convention that some apps (e.g. Perforce) use. Basically it just says the year in which you release, and the sequence within that year. So 2008.1 would be

I work for a product development company.We first do internal releases,and then public release.I was wondering, how other product developing companies manage their release? How do you give release number? Tag the source control? Kevin We use SubVersion, where tags and branches are cheap to create. As far as releases go, we follow this convention: (Major Release).(Minor Release).(Patch Release).(SVN revision) Patch Release = bug fixes Minor Release = binary compatible / interface compatible Major Release = includes breaking changes. Does that make sense? If you need more information, add a

Spring's 3.0 version is now GA release, before that they have launched 3.0 RC1 , RC2 version Also, there was Spring 3.0 M2 version. What's the difference between GA, RC, M versions? Jon Skeet GA = General availability (a release); should be very stable and feature complete RC = Release candidate; probably feature complete and should be pretty stable - problems should be relatively rare and minor, but worth reporting to try to get them fixed for release. M = Milestone build - probably not feature complete; should be vaguely stable (i.e. it's more than just a nightly snapshot) but may still have