How about including a build number or some such in the release information? I can see on the download website what date/time the files were posted (almost always tomorrow’s date, for me), but I can’t tell whether that is the same as what I’m running or not, without going to the directory where I stored the last download to check the filename I stored it with - and even then, I can’t tell if I remembered to install that version or not. Since many of the minor versions go through multiple releases it becomes relevant to know (i.e. 10.27o bld 12786 is different from 10.27o bld 12787). Build number could be continuous from version 1.0 (if you have that information).
one way to know its a minor change or a fix for a minor thing or some setup, is that the date/time on the download page has changed since you last downloaded it…
i do it this way sometimes to save a whole bunch of people downling it when they did not need to …
I know exactly what Bill means though.
Trying to work out whether the file you downloaded at 1900BST on the 2nd September is the same as a file uploaded at 0600 NZDST on 2nd September isn’t a trivial thought process given the time zone differences. Seeing Build 19278 when you know the one you dowloaded 3 hours ago was build 16384 give you a much easier visual clue that you’ve got the correct version.
what i do is once i know a minor change has fixed the issue for the person reporting the bug , etc, and once i have a number of fixes or improvements all working ok, then I change the version number
I’ve seen the comment made many times here on the forum by people trying to get minor releases to fix a current problem…“Have I got the latest version that attempts to fix this bug” and I’ve seen your responses a similar number of times…“You’ve probably downloaded the previous version before the new one had fully uploaded”…but there’s no easy way to tell if you’ve got the newest or anolder version.
A build number might save you some time by making it immediately obvious which version you’re referring to…build 12345 rather than the 06:43am version of 10.99q.
Also virtually every other major software developer uses them these days
well i update a new version number daily almost, so people just have to wait for a day ?
But that slows down bug fixes. Sometimes you release 4 or 5 un-numbered within the day for people with specific bugs to test out. The questions about “Have I got the latest attempt to fix this” often come from the people working with you to locate the bug.
I would have thought that Delphi had the facility to generate a build number automatically during each compile process, so it might not be a major thing to do this.
its not a major thing to change version number, no
but then i get remarks and snide remarks about how version releases of weather display are, and generaly people think its a bad thing to see that
i simply cannot seem to please people
i am just trying to avoid people downloading a version which i am working on and saying, you broke it, fix it
anyway, I am gone now, away for the next 2 days, off to a 7 year old birthday party and stay (my sisters)
I guess that if you upload a version then it’s inevitable that people will download it. They can still tell if it’s a new version by the date/timestamp if they want to. Maybe there should be a separate download area for ‘bug fix versions’ where the files aren’t put on a web page for the world to see. If someone is working with you on a specific problem, tell them where the file is (give them slightly non-standard names to avoid people tracking the bug-fix versions) so that they can download it but no-one else knows it’s there. Then release a new version every few days with all the bug fixes rolled into it?
off to a 7 year old birthday party
That’s quite an old party
its not a major thing to change version number, no but then i get remarks and snide remarks about how version releases of weather display are, and generaly people think its a bad thing to see thati simply cannot seem to please people
i am just trying to avoid people downloading a version which i am working on and saying, you broke it, fix it
I wasn’t trying to cause a problem - and I understand what you do now and it works, sort of…
I was reading through this read and actually became a bit confused. Anyway I wonder why the Build number of a realease is not posted such as:
Weather Display zip of the main .exe file v10.36x
for Windows 98 / 2000 / ME / XP & NT (unzip to WD where is installed)
Build 07 Version on 10 December 2006 - 08:53:54 6.75 MB Download
And yes I see it is an old thread but the only one I spotted on the topic.
because I like it that I can work directly with people on issues/new things, via build numbers, via the forum,and not have the general public download each and every single version because they know there is a new version