: 3.2.1. Version numbers based on dates : : In general, Debian packages should use the same version numbers as the : upstream sources. : : However, in some cases where the upstream version number is based on a : date (e.g., a development "snapshot" release) the package management : system cannot handle these version numbers without epochs. For : example, dpkg will consider "96May01" to be greater than "96Dec24". : : To prevent having to use epochs for every new upstream version, the : version number should be changed to the following format in such : cases: "19960501", "19961224". It is up to the maintainer whether : he/she wants to bother the upstream maintainer to change the version : numbers upstream, too. : : Note that other version formats based on dates which are parsed : correctly by the package management system should _not_ be changed. : : Native Debian packages (i.e., packages which have been written : especially for Debian) whose version numbers include dates should : always use the "YYYYMMDD" format.
I would suggest using 0.YYYYMMDD to avoid using epoch when upstream finally decides to use version 1.0 instead. Peter
