[Scribus] file format 1.3.3.x and 1.3.4

[Craig Bradney]

On Wednesday 29 November 2006 23:28, Axel Bojer wrote:
> Louis Desjardins skrev:
> > Craig Bradney a ?crit :
> >> On Wednesday 29 November 2006 20:46, Gregory Pittman wrote:
> >>> avox wrote:
> >>>> Gregory Pittman wrote:
> >>>>> I just noticed recently that 1.3.3.x versions cannot import 1.3.4cvs
> >>>>> files. Is this going to be a permanent issue?
> >>>>
> >>>> Yes. We only provide backward compatibility, not forward
> >>>> compatibility. 134cvs is a development version with a lot of file
> >>>> format changes. You should only use it for playing around and use 133x
> >>>> for production work.
> >>>
> >>> Do you think we might ever see an option to save in an older format? In
> >>> other words, have the possibility from 1.3.4 to save into a
> >>> 1.3.3.x-compatible format?
> >>> A slightly different version of "backward compatibility."
> >>
> >> Yes it might be possible. One of the things I extended in 1.3.4cvs is
> >> the separation of the loader and saver plugins. We *may* extend the
> >> 1.3.3.x loader plugin to also be a saver plugin.. however, this will not
> >> happen in 1.3.4, and more than likely not in 1.3.5.
> >
> > Just a thought on Greg's idea. I wonder whether saving in an older
> > format would be as good as it seems. Does that still make sense from the
> > free software point of view? Anyone wishing to upgrade can do so at no
> > cost. If a user come across a file the app can't open, it means the app
> > should be upgraded. That's it. We have lots of reflexes from the old
> > world.
>
> The problem woould be for people depending on the repositories of their
> favorite distribution, they will perhaps not know how, or want to learn,
> how to comile from the source-package. And using source packages also
> clutters up the system (for instance in debian distributions it does not
> fit very well with the apt-get system), therefore for many it would not

This is untrue. Apart from any build dependencies and people learning to build 
an application, you can simply install into a directory in your home 
directory, and delete/reinstall/upgrade at any time. You should not install 
into /usr or whatever system prefix is used on the selected OS in such a 
situation.

Regards
Craig