I agree that we should do this (have a character which sorts before anything, including the empty string), but we should not make it ~, because ~ is currently not legal in version numbers.
We have two choices: (a) we can invent a new character not currently legal, or (b) we can change the meaning of an existing character. (a) means that packages (and Packages files, etc.) with the new character will be rejected by the old software (dpkg, etc). (b) means that they'll be accepted, but sorted wrong by the old software, until the new software is installed. I think (b) is better. I favour `-' as a character. This has one negative consequence: you can't use it in a revision, because the revision is the part after the last `-'. However, it does have a slightly good connotation of `subtraction'. Ian. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
