Hello All !

I've invented a new appendix and added it to my Max.doc for future
reference. It may become part of the next release in 10 or 15 years :)

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             Appendices                                                484



             Appendix I: The Maximus version number

             This section describes the Maximus version numbering system.

             The "Maximus version" (version) number is denoted as follows, 

               .[[]][]

             where the following meanings apply, 

               ma                Major release number
               mi                Minor release number
               i                 Implementation number
               ir                Implementation release number
               p                 Patch level 

             "Release" is synonymous to "stable version". 

             "Team" refers to the Maximus developers and/or maintainers.

             All changes made should be documented in whatsnew.xxx and 
             changes.txt in each distribution archive.

             Stable versions have no hyphen (-) anywhere in the version 
             number. 

             The implementation (i) number if present, is incremented for 
             each significant new feature. 

             The implementation release (ir) number if present, applies 
             specifically to the implementation, and is reset when the
             implementation (i) number is incremented.

             The patch level (p) if present, applies to the whole version
             and is incremented whenever any reported bugs or known
             problems are fixed, or a very small feature (not enough to 
             justify an implementation (i) number increase) is optimised, 
             changed or added. One increment in the patch level (p) number
             could address multiple bugs or problem fixes or small 
             additions.

             To qualify a patch level (p) as a release, a period of 12 
             months must pass without change in the patch level (p). 
             The decision to make any version a release lies with the 
             team. If they decide to turn a patched version into a 
             release, then this is done by incrementing the implementation
             release (ir) number and dropping  from the version 
             number. Please refer to examples below. 

             Eventhough a patch level is turned into a release, the 
             contents of the release distribution archive may differ
             slightly from the previous patch level archive due to last
             minute changes to documentation for example.

             A zero "0" integer in any quartet of the version number 
             indicates no changes for that section.

             Patches can be offered for specific versions at the 
             descretion of the team, but only the latest version is 
             supported. Users are generally encouraged to upgrade to the 
             latest version.

             Table I.1 lists some examples: 

             Table I.1 Maximus version number examples

Version      Description

3.02-8       Unstable version, where eight patches were applied to version
             3.02, suggesting that there were bugs fixed or optmisations 
             made in minor release 02. There were no new features. 

3.02.123     Stable version with 123 new features since minor release 02. 

3.02.123-12  Unstable version, with 12 patches issued for bugs effecting 
             _any_ of the 123 new features since minor release 02. 

3.02.123.1   The first stable version for all 123 new features of minor 
             release 02, after no patches have been issued for over 12 
             months. Woohoo !

3.02.123.1-1 Unstable version, where bugs were found and fixed in the 
             3.02.123.1 release. 

3.02.123.2   The second stable version for all 123 new features of minor
             release 02, after no patches have been issued for over 12 
             months since the previous patch level.

3.02.0.1     Stable version, but no new features since minor release 02. 
             The "0" in the 3rd quartet indicates there have been no new 
             features since minor release 02 and the "1" in the last (4th)
             quartet indicates the 1st release since a patch was issued 
             over 12 months ago for minor release 02. 

3.02.0.6-4   Unstable version, where bugs were found and fixed since the 
             previous unstable version 3.02.0.6-3. And there have still 
             been _no_ new features since minor release 02. Twelve months
             must pass without bug reports or changes before we can 
             qualify for release status 3.02.0.7.

3.02.0.7     Stable version. This version number suggests a rock-solid, 
             thoroughly tested and very mature release because there have
             been atleast 7 years worth of implementation releases while 
             _no_ new features have been added since minor release 02.

3.02.123.7   Stable version. This version number suggests a rock-solid, 
             thoroughly tested and very mature release because there have
             been atleast 7 years worth of implementation releases while
             no new features have been added to the _existing_ 123 since 
             minor release 02.

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