Aaron Konstam wrote: > You are right, as I later figured out. However in the spec file in > this case the Epoch is 1 not 0. I am not sure what that signifies. It means that you'll need to use Epoch: 1 in the updated specfile as well. Otherwise, none of the others changes you make to the version and release will make the new package newer to rpm than the old package. Epoch 1 beats epoch 0 and overrides all other version/release tags (much like paper covers rock :). Epoch exists as a large hack, for use when the version/release would otherwise not be able to sort properly to rpm. This can happen if the software uses a really odd versioning scheme or if the packagers need to revert to an older version for some reason. Basically, once you have an Epoch tag in an rpm, it needs to stay there and remain at least as high as the epoch in the last rpm. You can test this using fedora-rpmvercmp: $ fedora-rpmvercmp 1 0.6.5 7.fc7 0 0.6.5 7L.fc7 1:0.6.5-7.fc7 is newer $ fedora-rpmvercmp 1 0.6.5 7.fc7 0 0.7.6 8.fc7 1:0.6.5-7.fc7 is newer There is a lot of good info in the rpm-guide at: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/drafts/rpm-guide-en/index.html The section on package information talks a little about the Epoch tag: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/drafts/rpm-guide-en/ch09s03.html "If the version number is not enough to allow for comparisons, for example, if the version numbering scheme has changed radically between releases, you can define an Epoch: directive. For example: Epoch: 3 If you renumber your versions, use an Epoch setting to clarify the version history. For example, Sun Microsystems went from SunOS 4.1 to Solaris 2. The Epoch: helps RPM properly handle strange version number changes. Define the Epoch: as a whole number such as 1, 2, or 3. Warning Avoid using the Epoch: directive if at all possible. It is far better to use a sane version-numbering scheme than to try to resolve the mess with epoch values. The main problems with using an epoch value are that epochs are hidden from users in most cases, and using epochs can lead to very strange-looking tasks such as a newer package with a version number that looks older than the older package." I'd recommend read at least that page of the rpm-guide as it contains other useful info about how versioning works and what you can and cant put into the various tags. -- Todd OpenPGP -> KeyID: 0xBEAF0CE3 | URL: www.pobox.com/~tmz/pgp ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The trouble with born-again Christians is that they are an even bigger pain the second time around. -- Herb Caen, 1981, in San Francisco Chronicle
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