So perhaps the following scheme might be acceptable: Version numbers start with an API version number, then any combination of letters and punctuation that is likely to make sense to a human reader, followed by an optional "alpha" or "beta" indicator. The first number would change only if a package cannot be used as a drop-in replacement for its predecessors. Is that something the "anarchists" could agree on?

Here is an idea of an alternative: every package supplies a package identification script, which is a Python script that builds some data structures and a function: isupgradeof(pkg) to discover if a package is an upgrade of another, the client executes BOTH package identification scripts, and then calls BOTH isupgradeof functions (each on the other package). A package is an upgrade of another if one of the functions says so, otherwise not. It may be worth considering adding this kind of functionality to the __init__ module of a package. Just an idea. Remember, we all know some OO, and we know it is better to represent abstractions with methods than data <grin> ------------------------------------------------------- John Skaller email: skaller@maxtal.com.au http://www.maxtal.com.au/~skaller phone: 61-2-96600850 snail: 10/1 Toxteth Rd, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia