[Distutils] RFC : Version comparison

[Trent Mick]

> (Btw, the wiki page pseudo-regex doesn't match what the code actually parses, either.)

Current: N.N[.N]+[abc]N[.N]+[.(dev|post)N+]

Admittedly that is just trying to be illustrative without being too
"syntax-y", but perhaps it is more confusing than helpful. Ultimately
I think the docs might be most helpful by just giving examples of
valid version strings for different use cases. Something like:

Basic versions:
   1.0    # there must be at least two numbers (e.g. just "1" is not allowed)
   1.5.3.2   # any number of dotted segments more than two are allowed

Alphas, betas and release candidates (they must be numbered):
  1.0a1    # the first alpha on the way to "1.0"
  3.1b1    # the first beta
  5.0c3    # the third release candidate for "5.0"
Any number of additional dotted segments are allowed
  1.0a1.1    # a quick update to the "1.0a1" was necessary (personal
note: I'd tend to do a "1.0a2" release, but sometimes that might not
be feasible)

... and so on describing the use cases for "dev" (pre-) releases and
"post" releases.





-- 
Trent Mick
trentm at gmail.com