MAJOR.MINOR.ALPHA

[Wojciech Polak]

Hello,

The GNU Automake's documentation says:

 `readme-alpha'
     If this release is an alpha release, and the file `README-alpha'
     exists, then it will be added to the distribution.  If this option
     is given, version numbers are expected to follow one of two forms.
     The first form is `MAJOR.MINOR.ALPHA', where each element is a
     number; the final period and number should be left off for
     non-alpha releases.  The second form is `MAJOR.MINORALPHA', where
     ALPHA is a letter; it should be omitted for non-alpha releases.

but you just named the latest version 1.7.5 ?!
Does it mean this is an alpha release? If so,
why it is available from ftp.gnu.org, and not
alpha.gnu.org? Ok, I know you do not use this
`readme-alpha' option, but still there should
be a one numbering scheme.

I am asking this, because I am really confused
about the whole problem with stable versions
numbering. I just send an email to RMS asking
him to put a word on this in GNU Coding Standards.

Kind regards,
Wojciech Polak