[tex-live] datestamp in texcat

[Alexander Cherepanov]

Hi Karl!
On Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:08:15 -0500, karl at freefriends.org (Karl Berry) wrote:

>     Ok, so texlive.tlpdb is completely rebuilt every time or just some 
>     info in it is replaced on updates?
> 
> I can't answer the question as written :).
> 
> The procedure is: The catalogue info for a package is only updated when
> the package's actual files are updated, ie, the svn revision of
> something changes.

And the number of this svn revision goes to the revision property of 
the package in texlive.tlpdb, right?

> Put another way, we do not go out and look for catalogue updates for a
> given package unless something in the package contents has changed.

Then I'm completely lost as it contradicts all that I see. 

Let's take the parrun package for example. Revision 15228 (2009-09-12) 
of texlive.tlpdb contains the following info:

  name parrun
  revision 13530
  catalogue-date 2007-02-24 15:09:57 +0100 (Sat, 24 Feb 2007) $ 

(other properties are not shown).

Next revision -- r15254 (2009-09-13) -- contains:

  name parrun
  revision 13530
  catalogue-date 2007-02-24 15:09:57 +0100

The same revision number but a changed catalogue-date (probably 
because you had changed your regexes for parsing Catalogue).

Next revision -- r15280 (2009-09-14) -- contains:

  name parrun
  revision 13530
  catalogue-date 2009-09-13 09:55:53 +0200

Still the same revision number but a changed again catalogue-date 
(probably because Robin had fixed Catalogue entry).

Then no changes for three days. And then r15356 (2009-09-18) contains:

  name parrun
  revision 13530
  catalogue-date 2009-09-13 08:55:53 +0100 (Sun, 13 Sep 2009)$

Still the same revision number but a changed again catalogue-date 
(don't know why).

Next revision -- r15372 (2009-09-19) -- contains:

  name parrun
  revision 15366
  catalogue-date 2009-09-13 08:55:53 +0100 (Sun, 13 Sep 2009)$

Changed revision number (you had forced update for parrun.tlpsrc) but
catalogue-date was already changed.

Next revision -- r15381 (2009-09-20) -- contains:

  name parrun
  revision 15376
  catalogue-date 2009-09-20 00:02:29 +0200

Changed revision number (you had forced update again) and chaned 
catalogue-date (probably Robin had fixed Catalogue entry again).

Maybe I'm missing something very simple here but it looks to me that 
revision 13530 of the package parrun alone have seen 4 different 
catalogue-date's. Please shed some light.

Alexander Cherepanov