My English is horrible but "should be" surely does not mean "must be".
I don't think developers reset it. Of course it isn't a problem.
Just looking into "udev" spell. Who updated it to new version (even last
two updates) and didn't reset PATCHLEVEL? :-)
BTW, it could be fine if PATCHLEVEL was printed with gaze version (for
example firefox 1.5.0.6-2). I think it is something in devel sorcery to
print PATCHLEVEL but only with some special option. It could be printed
with normal gaze version. If user reports problem with firefox 1.5.0.6
we do not know what patches are applied, when (roughly) he/she cast it
and so on. If he/she reports problem with version 1.5.0.6-2 we get more
info. Moreover I would like to see these versions in our ledger. And for
example highlight versions with security problems.
When we update SECURITY_PATCH we should update also PATCHLEVEL to see
the change in "gaze version".
Example:
VERSION=1.5.0.5 -> PATCHLEVEL=6 -> SECURITY_PATCH=4
Upgrade to new version: VERSION=1.5.0.6 -> PATCHLEVEL=0 (not removing
from DETAILS just set to 0) -> SECURITY_PATCH=4 (never reset)
Patch with new feature: VERSION=1.5.0.6 -> PATCHLEVEL=1 -> SECURITY_PATCH=4
Security fix: VERSION=1.5.0.6 -> PATCHLEVEL=2 -> SECURITY_PATCH=5
Patch with new feature: VERSION=1.5.0.6 -> PATCHLEVEL=3 -> SECURITY_PATCH=5
Upgrade to new version with security fix: VERSION=1.5.0.7 ->
PATCHLEVEL=0 -> SECURITY_PATCH=6
...
Just thinking how to bind SECURITY_PATCH=5 with PATCHLEVEL=2. Need to
know from VERSION-PATCHLEVEL if it is security fixed or no.
What about SECURITY_PATCH (or FIX)=5:1.5.0.6:2 ?
Just idea ...