==========================================
Interpreting the Loopy version string
==========================================
To accomodate both the conventions for version strings expected
by the setuptools package.

Each version consists of the base version number, an optional
pre-release tag, and a package version.

Base Version Number
===================
The base version number is three non-negative integers delimited by 
the "." character. Examples:
    
    0.1.1
    1.1.2
    10000.100.1
    0.0.0

Pre-release Tags
=================

Any version that is not intended for general public consumption is
denoted by a pre-release tag:

    alpha
        Features, unit tests, and documentation is still being
        written or missing.
    beta
        No new features are being developed, current features
        are documented and have unit tests, and the only changes
        to the code that are allowed are bug fixes.
    rc
        Similar to the 'beta' tag; the code base is considered stable
        enough to be release worthy. Again, bug fixes are the only
        types of changes allowed to the code base, though by this point
        no showstopper bugs should be left. 

Pre-release Version Number
----------------------------
If a pre-release tag is appended to the base version number, 
development snapshots may be denoted by a pre-release version number. 
This version number is two non-negative integers delimited by the "."
character and prepended with the "-" character. Examples:

    alpha-0.0
    beta-1.1
    rc-0.5

Package Version Number
=======================
Even if a particular revision of the code base is considered bug-free,
errors may still occur in the packaging of the code. The package version
number is meant to reflect any changes to the packaging of the code only.
The package version number is a single positive integer prepended with
the "-" character. Examples:

    -1
    -10
    -100

Example Version Strings
========================
Here are some example version strings:

    0.1.0alpha-1
    0.1.1beta-0.1-5
    1.0.0rc-10
    1.1.0rc-7.5-7
    5.0.0-1
