Ubuntu: package versioning conventions

Hello,

I just loaded the synaptic package manager under ubuntu linux
to download the latest version of the a2ps text to postscript
converter that has been around for quite a wile now and does
an excellent job including printing more than one screen of
text such as computer source code per page.

What puzzles me is the version number: 1:4.14-1 on synaptic
whereas the version appears as simply 4.14 on:
http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/a2ps/

I have been used to RPM rather than .deb packages but have
never seen a colon used in package versioning so I am puzzled
as to the 1: part of the version number.

I wonder if anyone could kindly explain the numbering convention
to me or even better point me to a document describing how .deb
packages are put together and named (for ubuntu).

Thanks,

John Goche

John Goche <johngoche99.DeleteThis@googlemail.com> writes:

> Hello,
>
> I just loaded the synaptic package manager under ubuntu linux
> to download the latest version of the a2ps text to postscript
> converter that has been around for quite a wile now and does
> an excellent job including printing more than one screen of
> text such as computer source code per page.
>
> What puzzles me is the version number: 1:4.14-1 on synaptic
> whereas the version appears as simply 4.14 on:
> http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/a2ps/
>
> I have been used to RPM rather than .deb packages but have
> never seen a colon used in package versioning so I am puzzled
> as to the 1: part of the version number.
>
> I wonder if anyone could kindly explain the numbering convention

See http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Version

> to me or even better point me to a document describing how .deb
> packages are put together and named (for ubuntu).

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment#Packaging




Florian
--
<http://www.florian-diesch.de/software/pdfrecycle/>