general linux question

general linux question

[Siders, Keith]

This isn't mips-specific, so maybe belongs on another list, but I figured
someone here could probably answer just as quickly. I need to track versions
of all files in the system (embedded, flash-based, no disk media), but
cannot find a structure member where a version number can be stored in a
file header. Most linux command line apps generally have a -version command
line option, but is not viable for our application. Have I missed something?
Is there a standard Linux method/practice for version number tracking and
retrieval that is separate from CVS and the -version command switch, or do I
have to use something proprietary? Or should I just try to use the file
creation timestamp?

Keith Siders
Software Engineer
 Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc.
Advanced Television Technology Center
801 Royal Parkway, Suite 100
Nashville, Tennessee 37214
Phone: (615) 257-4050
Fax:   (615) 453-7880

Re: general linux question

[Bradley D. LaRonde]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Siders, Keith" <keith_siders@toshibatv.com>
To: "Linux-Mips (E-mail)" <linux-mips@oss.sgi.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 12:36 PM
Subject: general linux question


> I need to track versions
> of all files in the system (embedded, flash-based, no disk media)

Maybe use rcs?

Regards,
Brad

Re: general linux question

[Marc Karasek]

You could embed a header into the file itself that is lart of the linker
directive file.  These variables would be available from w/i the
program.  They are kinda like global variables.  The version could then
be tracked thru this file.  You can use things like compile date/time
etc. Each time you recompile the variables would change. 

On Wed, 2002-01-02 at 12:36, Siders, Keith wrote:
> This isn't mips-specific, so maybe belongs on another list, but I figured
> someone here could probably answer just as quickly. I need to track versions
> of all files in the system (embedded, flash-based, no disk media), but
> cannot find a structure member where a version number can be stored in a
> file header. Most linux command line apps generally have a -version command
> line option, but is not viable for our application. Have I missed something?
> Is there a standard Linux method/practice for version number tracking and
> retrieval that is separate from CVS and the -version command switch, or do I
> have to use something proprietary? Or should I just try to use the file
> creation timestamp?
> 
> Keith Siders
> Software Engineer
>  Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc.
> Advanced Television Technology Center
> 801 Royal Parkway, Suite 100
> Nashville, Tennessee 37214
> Phone: (615) 257-4050
> Fax:   (615) 453-7880
-- 
/*************************
Marc Karasek
Sr. Firmware Engineer
iVivity Inc.
marc_karasek@ivivity.com
(770) 986-8925
(770) 986-8926 Fax
*************************/

Re: general linux question

[Florian Lohoff]

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On Wed, Jan 02, 2002 at 11:36:27AM -0600, Siders, Keith wrote:
> This isn't mips-specific, so maybe belongs on another list, but I figured
> someone here could probably answer just as quickly. I need to track versions
> of all files in the system (embedded, flash-based, no disk media), but
> cannot find a structure member where a version number can be stored in a
> file header. Most linux command line apps generally have a -version command
> line option, but is not viable for our application. Have I missed something?
> Is there a standard Linux method/practice for version number tracking and
> retrieval that is separate from CVS and the -version command switch, or do I
> have to use something proprietary? Or should I just try to use the file
> creation timestamp?

Usually this is the reason for a distribution which stores some kind
of metadata in some flavour of package database:

(flo@paradigm)~# dpkg -l gcc binutils
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-files/Unpacked/Failed-config/Half-installed
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name           Version        Description
+++-==============-==============-============================================
ii  gcc            2.95.4-9       The GNU C compiler.
ii  binutils       2.11.92.0.12.3 The GNU assembler, linker and binary utiliti


Flo
-- 
Florian Lohoff                  flo@rfc822.org             +49-5201-669912
Nine nineth on september the 9th              Welcome to the new billenium

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RE: general linux question

[Siders, Keith]

Brad,

Thanks for the quick reply...

Well, rcs looks like a source control system, which _would_ allow me to
create revision history files, but I was hoping that a file carried its
version number in a file header, like the superblock structure, for quick
access without having to create more files. This is a flash memory system,
so storage constraints and access performance reign supreme. Not to mention
that I'd have to include rcs as part of the distribution, taking up more
memory in the flash file system.

Keith

-> -----Original Message-----
-> From: Bradley D. LaRonde [mailto:brad@ltc.com]
-> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 11:52 AM
-> To: Siders, Keith; Linux-Mips (E-mail)
-> Subject: Re: general linux question
-> 
-> 
-> ----- Original Message ----- 
-> From: "Siders, Keith" <keith_siders@toshibatv.com>
-> To: "Linux-Mips (E-mail)" <linux-mips@oss.sgi.com>
-> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 12:36 PM
-> Subject: general linux question
-> 
-> 
-> > I need to track versions
-> > of all files in the system (embedded, flash-based, no disk media)
-> 
-> Maybe use rcs?
-> 
-> Regards,
-> Brad
->