Manuel,
Here's what I get with this patch:
$ python test2.py rewrite 3.3beta1 4333
3.3beta1-4333 3.3-0.4333.beta1
$ python test2.py rewrite 3.3rc1 4333
3.3rc1-4333 3.3-0.4333.rc1
It is REWRITING the strings when we don't want them rewritten. And that
was the point about putting this in an extension called by a commandline
arg. Instead of going through all these callesthenics writing obscure
code in bdist_rpm.py just write your simpler code into an override
module and call it via a commandline option. That way people who work
on bdist_rpm in the future don't have to decipher all this
Fedora-specific code. Why do you resist doing it this way? Why do you
feel you have the right to come in and take over bdist_rpm with
Fedora-specific modifications?
Regards,
Gerry