[Releasing] archive file naming with -rc version suffix

[Mark Brand]

Thiago Macieira wrote:
> On quarta-feira, 30 de janeiro de 2013 10.43.12, Mark Brand wrote:
>> I understand the argument. However, it cannot be said ahead of time that
>> any RC will be the final release. If it isn't, then there will be failed
>> RC archives around with the same name as the final release, which is
>> likely to cause confusion. The name collision makes it impossible to
>> keep the RCs and final release in the same directory. Finally, it's
>> inconvenient for scripted build, packaging, and testing, say, for distros.
> If the file name and extracted dir name are exactly the same as in the final release, how is it more difficult for scripted building? You don't need to change anything from one RC to the next, just download the new files.

My point about scripted builds was intended as an argument for the file 
naming convention that includes the "-rc1". It is conventient to write a 
script in which the version string such as "5.0.1-rc1" is a parameter. 
The URL, filename, and extracted dir name are all predictable. With a 
working download/extract/build script for 5.0.0, one would only have to 
replace the version with "5.0.1-rc1".

There is a very strong precendent for both the source archive name and 
extracted dir name following the <base>-<version> pattern. My experience 
says that this is the dominant convention by far.

>> It might be too late to fix (from my perspective) the RC naming
>> convention for 5.0.1, but I hope it will be seriously considered when it
>> next becomes possible.
> We need the arguments on why that is necessary. It adds to our work and
> necessarily postpones any release by 24 hours, with a possibility of failure in the rebuild process.

To summarize:

1. Source tarballs with same names but different content are confusing.
2. Source tarballs with same names cannot be kept in a single directory.
3. Ease of scripting downloading, unpacking, and building parameterized 
with version string.
4. Precedent. Why reinvent the wheel?