...
- oci extension ONLY updated version info (1.2.3 to 1.2.4) but NOT the code!
OCI8 is (still) a PECL extension, so it's release cycle is not synced with PHP.
Yes I know. We have been testing recent versions a quite bit lately
because of a strange problem with cursors remaining open (happens when
the oracle server is windows and oci client is > 1.2.2).
But if the oci8 code that was released as part of php 5.2.4 is exactly
the same as what is found in pecl version 1.2.4, leaving it tagged
"1.2.3" is a bit misleading.
Checking dates, pecl 1.2.4 was released the day after php 5.2.4. I do
not need to scan this list's archives to be sure that everybody involved
in the oci code knew quite well about the pending release of php, and
changing that single line of oci code where the version is stored would
not have been a huge deal. If there really was no certainty that the php
code would end up being the same as pecl 1.2.4, it could have been
tagged 1.2.4-dev or something like that...
Please note that I did not intend to single out oci coders as the bad
guys: I am actually quite happy that at least the oci extension gets
some version info at all!
Actually, other PECL extensions should be released through PECL either, but for some
reason most of the authors do not do it after the extensions have got into the core.
Speaking of the versions, I believe core extensions should update their versions
only after some major changes/additions, which rarely happen in a bugfix branch (if at all)
There are 2 problems with this, imho:
1 - sometimes extensions get moved out of core into pecl (such as... oci? ;)
2 - it is possible on unix to either upgrade or downgrade at will a
single extension buy just recompiling it. I am not suggesting that it
always makes sense or that lots of people do it, but it is possible, and
makes any check-for-presence-of-a-given-bug that depends only on the php
version much less reliable. People on windows can also do it without
even recompiling, by just swapping the dlls, provided they can find the
version they want on pecl4win or from other places.
plus a 3 numbered version is very easy to assign to a lib (you know,
like a new param for a function bumps up the middle number, a fix - any
fix - bumps up the rightmost one etc... ) , and every single coder on
earth is bound to understand it at first look...
But maybe I misunderstood the meaning of "core" above for "bundled"...
Bye
Gaetano
PS: I forgot in my previous mail: CONGRATS FOR THE NEW RELEASE!!!
