[vtkusers] [vtk-developers] Discussion: OK to change VTK's version number from 9.0 to 8.2?

[Ben Boeckel]

On Thu, Sep 27, 2018 at 10:33:19 +1200, Todd via vtk-developers wrote:
> I have no objection, but I have to ask "What does the major version number
> change mean? Does it signify breaking changes or the addition of new/removal of
> old modules?"

Even minor bumps could have added or removed modules. Major version
bumps in the past have been gut feeling based on how much has changed
since the last release (e.g., OpenGL2 backend, pipeline reworking,
modularization).

> In regards to some of the other feedback; the problem with month.year
> versioning is that it represents nothing more than chronology. How would new/
> deprecated features be signalled?

Release notes. For VTK, even 8.1 to 8.2 meant some code likely had to
change, so even minor bumps have not been indicative of "just recompile"
upgrades.

--Ben