R4R: various changes to version cmd, revert those which previously broke ABI

[alessio]

closes: #1894

• Linked to github-issue with discussion and accepted design OR link to spec that describes this work.
• Wrote tests
• Updated relevant documentation (docs/)
• Added entries in PENDING.md with issue #
• rereviewed Files changed in the github PR explorer

---

For Admin Use:

• Added appropriate labels to PR (ex. wip, ready-for-review, docs)
• Reviewers Assigned
• Squashed all commits, uses message "Merge pull request #XYZ: [title]" (coding standards)

[codecov]

Codecov Report

Merging #3436 into develop will decrease coverage by 0.05%.
The diff coverage is 0%.

@@             Coverage Diff             @@
##           develop    #3436      +/-   ##
===========================================
- Coverage    59.41%   59.36%   -0.06%     
===========================================
  Files          135      134       -1     
  Lines         9975     9972       -3     
===========================================
- Hits          5927     5920       -7     
- Misses        3676     3679       +3     
- Partials       372      373       +1

[jackzampolin]

Good fix @alessio

[cwgoes]

Two minor reqs, otherwise LGTM.