On Mon 01 Aug 2016 at 02:56:54 (-0400), Felix Miata wrote: > Will someone please explain (or point to, since it's not in release notes), > why: > > 1: /etc/os-release (in Jessie at least) does not include the point > release version as represented by /etc/debian_version
/etc/os-release is an outward-facing file designed for programs to find out what distribution of linux is running here. As far as they are concerned, each Debian version is a rolling release so the point number is meaningless. Why would you want it? /etc/debian_version is an inward-facing file for system administrators and installers. Really, it only interests the latter because even the point versions are rolling releases between points. If you're installing a new system, the point release will at least tell you whether it's worth downloading a new d-i iso or if you've got the latest there is. Not much more. If you need Debian 7, it's easy enough to install it. If you think you need Debian 7.3, you're probably going to have trouble working out just what versions of all the packages were available on December 14th, 2013. Cheers, David.
