A
Guide to Software Revisions
Once you
start playing with software you quickly become aware
that each software package has a revision code attached
to it. It is obvious that this revision code gives
the sequence of changes to the product, but in reality
there's substantially more information available through
the rev code than that. This e-mail provides a guide
for interpreting the meaning of the revision codes
and what they actually signify.
1.0:
Also known as "one
point uh-oh", or "barely out of beta". We had to
release because the lab guys had reached a point
of exhaustion and the marketing guys were in a cold
sweat of terror. We're praying that you'll find
it more functional than, say, a computer virus and
that its operation has some resemblance to that
specified in the marketing copy.
1.1:
We fixed all the
killer bugs ...
1.2:
Uh, we introduced
a few new bugs fixing the killer bugs and so we
had to fix them, too.
2.0:
We did the product
we really wanted to do to begin with. Mind you,
it's really not what the customer needs yet, but
we're working on it.
2.1:
Well, not surprisingly,
we broke some things in making major changes so
we had to fix them. But we did a really good job
of testing this time, so we don't think we introduced
any new bugs while we were fixing these bugs.
2.2:
Uh, sorry, one slipped
through. One lousy typo error and you won't believe
how much trouble it caused!
2.3:
Some jerk found
a deep-seated bug that's been there since 1.0 and
wouldn't stop nagging until we fixed it!!
3.0:
Hey, we finally
think we've got it right! Most of the customers
are really happy with this.
3.1:
Of course, we did
break a few little things.
4.0:
More features. It's
doubled in size now, by the way, and you'll need
to get more memory and a faster processor ...
4.1:
Just one or two
bugs this time ... Honest!
5.0:
We really need to
go on to a new product, but we have an installed
base out there to protect. We're cutting the staffing
after this.
6.0:
We had to fix a
few things we broke in 5.0. Not very many, but it's
been so long since we looked at this thing we might
as well call it a major upgrade. Oh, yeah, we added
a few flashy cosmetic features so we could justify
the major upgrade number.
6.1:
Since I'm leaving
the company and I'm the last guy left in the lab
who works on the product, I wanted to make sure
that all the changes I've made are incorporated
before I go. I added some cute demos, too, since
I was getting pretty bored back here in my dark
little corner (I kept complaining about the lighting
but they wouldn't do anything). They're talking
about obsolescence planning but they'll try to keep
selling it for as long as there's a buck or two
to be made. I'm leaving the bits in as good a shape
as I can in case somebody has to tweak them, but
it'll be sheer luck if no one loses them.
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