Ubuntu package mixes up version numbers and installs older package

[Erdal Ronahi]

I had version 0.8rc5-1 of this package installed from the sourceforge project
page. Ubuntu immidiately informed, that an upgrade exists and asked me whether I
wanted to update to 0.8.2005.0217-3ubuntu1.

I said yes, but this is a MUCH OLDER version of the package, not an upgrade. So
I had to install the original again, which Ubuntu regarded as a "downgrade",
although in fact it was an upgrade.

I use Breezy.

[Dennis Kaarsemaker (dennis)]

That's not an Ubuntu bug, that's the way version numbers are compared. The
sourceforge package has a bad version number.

[David Fraser (davidf)]

Which version number are you saying is invalid, 0.8rc5 or 0.8.2005xxx?

[Dennis Kaarsemaker (dennis)]

The version number 0.8rc5 is lower than 0.8.2005.0217-3ubuntu1, dpkg is handling
this correctly. The version numbers by themself are correct, just inconsistent.
I see Debian as the authority for version numbers on debian packages, which
means 0.8rc5 would be an incorrect version number, 0.8.2005.12xx or
0.8.2006.01xx being the right one.

[Erdal Ronahi (erdalronahi)]

In fact, 0.8rc5 is not used as a name for a debian package anyway, as far as I
can see. I used "alien" on a RPM-package to get it installed in the first place.
Ubuntu immediately informed me there was an "update".