Version & Distribution identification

[Christopher Yeoh]

How does the following look for a more formal specification based on
people's comments so far?


- The file /etc/lsb-release will exist and can be used to identify the
  version of the LSB against which the distribution is compliant. It
  is a text file containing lines of the following format:

  KEY="VALUE"

  +----------+----------------------------------------------------+
  | KEY      |  VALUE                                             |
  +----------+----------------------------------------------------+
  | VERSION  | Numerical version number of the lsb release        |
  |          | against which the distribution is designed against |
  +----------+----------------------------------------------------+

  Each KEY appears once in the file.

- The file /etc/distribution-release will exist and can be used
  to identify the name of the distributor and version number
  of the installed distribution. It is a text file containing lines
  of the following format:

  KEY="VALUE"

  +-------------------+----------------------------------------------+
  | KEY               | VALUE                                        |
  +-------------------+----------------------------------------------+
  | DISTRIBUTOR_ID    | String ID of distributor                     |
  | VERSION           | Numerical version number                     |
  | NAME              | Single line text description of distribution |
  +-------------------+----------------------------------------------+

  Each KEY appears once in the file.

A couple of questions:

- Is the /etc/lsb-release file needed given that the same
  information is most likely available through the package
  manager? Is it just easier to get the information out of a simple
  text file?

- Would this belong in the LSB spec or in the Linux annex
  of the FHS?

Chris.
--
cyeoh at linuxcare.com.au
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