The first page in the PDF file of the book will say something like ‘Version 0.3’ or ‘Version 0.2, revision 2’ or ‘Version 0.5 preview (unstable build)’.
Version numbering
- Version 0.x indicates a work-in-progress version of the book, prior to its publication. (The first edition of the published book will be Version 1, and so on.)
- A new version indicates significant changes to the structure or content of the book, such as new sections, reordering of sections, new content, and so on. Each time a new version is released, you can find notes outlining what has changed in the Announcements section. Previous versions are preserved in the archive.
- A ‘revision’ to a version indicates that there have been minor changes to the content. Some item enumeration might be different, but the overall structure and content is essentially unchanged.
Stable and unstable download
- A stable download is one that won’t change over time. This is useful for instructors because item numbers (e.g. for theorems and exercises) won’t change part way through the course. The downside is that typos and errors are also stable, so will not be fixed until the next version is released.
- An unstable download is one that changes over time to incorporate new content and fixed typos and errors. Instructors and students using unstable versions should avoid referring to content by page or item number (e.g. ‘read pages 125-127 and then complete Exercise 3.40’) because changes might cause content to move and numbers to change.
- If you are using the unstable version to teach, then I highly recommend creating your own static version so that major restructurings do not disrupt your course. To do this, just download the current unstable version and upload the PDF to your course website or LMS.