man: make clear that VERSION and VERSION_ID is not mandatory in os-release.5

2 files changed, 9 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index 1069896cb4..fbe299c931 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ Fedora:
 
 * chkconfig → systemd enable/daemon-reload glue
 
+* /var/lock, /var/run → what happens if rpm stuff is no %ghosted?
+
 External:
 
 * make cryptsetup lower --iter-time
diff --git a/man/os-release.xml b/man/os-release.xml
index c6eb28f395..b5f42b2eec 100644
--- a/man/os-release.xml
+++ b/man/os-release.xml
@@ -167,9 +167,15 @@
 
                 <para>If you interpreting this file from code or a
                 shell script, use the ID and VERSION_ID fields. When
-                looking for an OS indetification string for
+                looking for an OS identification string for
                 presentation to the user use the PRETTY_STRING
                 field.</para>
+
+                <para>Note that operating system vendors may choose
+                not to provide version information, for example to
+                accomodate for rolling releases. In this case VERSION
+                and VERSION_ID may be unset. Applications should not
+                rely on these fields to be set.</para>
         </refsect1>
 
         <refsect1>