Philosophy of build numbers

[Richard Gaskin]

I'm extending the build system for my apps to use build numbers, and it 
seems there are at least two different philosophies about this:

a) Increment the build number each time every build is made, regardless 
of version.
PRO: One number tells you what you need to know
CON: That number can get quite larger over the life of a product

b) Increment the build number each time, but reset to 1 for the first 
build of a major upgrade (the number to the left of the first decimal).
PRO: The build number will likely never exceed the hundreds, even for
      long-running successful programs
CON: You must also know the version to know where a build is in the 
larger sequence.


Is there of convention use widely enough to make alternatives easy to 
dismiss?


-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Media Corporation
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  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com       http://www.FourthWorld.com