Chris <spam_me_not@goaway.com> wrote:
We distribute an app as a library. The core of it is a single .jar file.
We have been including the version # in the name of the jar, i.e.
myapp-1.2.3.jar
Is this a good idea? On the one hand, it makes it very easy for the user
to see what version they have. On the other hand, the user has to update
the version number in the classpath for the startup script every time we
have a new release.
What's the better approach? I've seen it done both ways.
If you follow Sun's example for the JDK and JRE the version number
should be included in the name. On the other hand, I have often cursed
myself for upgrading to a new version, deleting the old one and then
omitting to update some application that needs to know. I now install
the new version and copy the upgrade to a similarly named location
that does not append the version number. I can see why Sun include the
version number but unless your application may need to be run using an
old version I think that every version should overwrite the old one.
Of course, the current version number should be in some easily
accessed location.