bug#19296: [PATCH] Package archives now have priorities.

[Achim Gratz]

Stefan Monnier writes:
>> When installing packages by name, only packages from archives with
>> the highest priority are considered, before versions are compared.
>
> What can this be used for (other than the MELPA case, obviously)?

Just like with package archives in the GNU/Linux world, this is useful
if the version numbering across those archives is incompatible even
though they are supposedly serving the same packages.  Priorities are a
good way for a user to describe in which order he wants multiple
archives to be searched for updates and have been used for this purpose
elsewhere.

> I think the better way to solve the problem of versioning the "bleeding
> edge package" would be to take the base version and tuck the date to it
> (instead of only using the date).

MELPA has choisen their incompatible version number scheme deliberately
and I don't think they are going to stop using it.

> I.e. file names like foo-mode-1.3.0.20141023.tar.gz where "1.3" is the
> version of the last release.

That would not help since it would still be interpreted as a higher
version than the released package and be an update candidate.
Priorities do not need coordination among package archives.


Regards,
Achim.
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