[REQ] Modification Version Control

[libertate]

I am lost.

I cannnot tell what version of an installed module I am running.
I cannot tell what version of a template modification I have installed.
I cannot tell what version of an extension I have installed.
I have no way of telling which version of a style I am running.
I don't know if a language pack has been updated or not.

With many of the above being re-writted, can the development community agree on some common methodology to update a table for this information?

It would be so sweet if a modification could tell me "you are running mod A v1.2, tempate B V7.9a, and extension C v0.9Beta - and oh yeah, Extention C has a new version 1.0; you want to grab it?"

This is how I see it -
A table storing a predetermined record for each modification, template,extension, style, language file.
I figure the information that could be stored minimally per record is -
Type, name, author, date installed, version, source URL, date to check back, previous name

The updating of the records would be in two ways:
A. Part of the product install process
Simple ADD a record to the end of the table - it would be important to show history, so updating a record would destroy that historical thread.

B. Manual update
This could be used with some language files, styles or template mods that require manual implementation

Most of this only need to be in the Admin area.

An additional feature could be built into the cron, which would go out and check the URL to see if the version needs updating.

Of course - most developers would have to agree on the method. And, I know very well, getting that accomplished is harder then herding cats in a buring house...

Lot of programmers are reviewing their code from 3.0 to 3.5 - this would be the right time to do it!

any thoughts?