is there a standard for getting a command's version number?

[John Summerfield]

Jacques B. wrote:
> On Dec 22, 2007 8:33 AM, Robert P. J. Day <rpjday at crashcourse.ca> wrote:

================================================
> 
> Not at my Linux box so can't validate this, but could you get it from
> rpm -qa | grep {command_name}?  Doesn't the rpm package name always
> contain the version number?  If so at least the format would be more
> standardized thus easier to parse.

that would be rpm -qf $(type -L ls)
the type -P serves to cater the case you don't know where it is, but 
fails of the command's not actually available (but a separate test can 
handle that0.

Mapping that that returns to what's in your docs remains a challenge.

btw if this has to work on Debian too, dpkg --search is equivalent, but 
the particulars are different.

-- 

Cheers
John

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