'\" te
.\"  Copyright 1989 AT&T  Copyright (c) 1996, Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
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.TH compver 4 "4 Oct 1996" "SunOS 5.11" "File Formats"
.SH NAME
compver \- compatible versions file
.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
.LP
\fBcompver\fR is an \fBASCII\fR file used to specify previous versions of the
associated package which are upward compatible. It is created by a package
developer.
.sp
.LP
Each line of the file specifies a previous version of the associated package
with which the current version is backward compatible.
.sp
.LP
Since some packages may require installation of a specific version of another
software package, compatibility information is extremely crucial. Consider, for
example, a package called "A" which requires version "1.0" of application "B"
as a prerequisite for installation. If the customer installing "A" has a newer
version of "B" (version 1.3), the \fBcompver\fR file for "B" must indicate that
"1.3" is compatible with version "1.0" in order for the customer to install
package "A".
.SH EXAMPLES
.LP
\fBExample 1 \fRSample \fBcompver\fR file.
.sp
.LP
A sample \fBcompver\fR file is shown below:

.sp
.in +2
.nf
\fBVersion 1.3
Version 1.0\fR
.fi
.in -2
.sp

.SH SEE ALSO
.sp
.LP
\fBpkginfo\fR(4)
.sp
.LP
\fIApplication Packaging Developer\&'s Guide\fR
.SH NOTES
.sp
.LP
The comparison of the version string disregards white space and tabs. It is
performed on a word-by-word basis. Thus, "Version 1.3" and "Version 1.3" would
be considered the same.
.sp
.LP
The entries in the \fBcompver\fR file must match the values assigned to the
\fBVERSION\fR parameter in the \fBpkginfo\fR(4) files.