Jan
25
Version Numbers
Filed Under Devotional
So much of what I do every day in software development is either driven by decision-makers over me or by the rules and guidelines of best practices. When it comes time to build a user interface for printing, there are some clear examples to follow and years of history about what has and has not worked. When it comes time to deliver the software to the user, there are accepted methods and processes that the user expects. There isn’t a lot of room for creativity in these kids of decisions. We just take what’s worked before and apply it to the slightly different case.
Every once in a while, though, I get to make a decision that has much more room for interpretation. Version numbers are one of those things that are subjective enough that otherwise logical developers will get into emotional discussions about it. Say you’re starting with your first released product. 1.0 is the standard version the industry uses. Then, you add a small feature and fix some bugs. How do you update the version number? 2.0 seems like too big of a jump (that implies major new features). 1.1 sounds about right, but may imply more change than actually happened. 1.0.1 is conservative and may lead your users to think that nothing important changed.
I’ve seen companies go from 1.0 to 1.1 to 1.5. The thinking being that it’s a “medium-large” change. They split the difference. Others will skip versions (from 2.0 to 4.0) to show that the changes are dramatic. Even others will simply change the versioning altogether. Microsoft Windows has had a progression like this: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, and the now-in-progress Windows 7. I’ll let you sort out that logic.
The version number is supposed to give some clue to how big the changes are. How has your version number changed since you met Christ? Has it been a 1.0 to 1.1 kind of change? Some nice additions, but nothing too earth-shaking? Or, 1.0 to 2.0? Your old friends think you’re different, but they’re still your friends. Or, has it been one of those 1.0 to XLS kind of changes? You are so different and so much better than before that your old friends don’t recognize you and either want to join in or flee.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
How big was your upgrade? Will those who meet you agree that your new version number really reflects the magnitude of the change?