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Upward (and Downward) Compatibility?

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The Question is:

 
We have a client who is moving to BASIC 1.4. We compile/link our software on
 BASIC 1.3. Will our software still run on their machine.
We also develop some applications on their
machine, we then copy this back to our machine. Will we be able to run this
 software on our machine even though we have the 1.3 RTL library.
 
Many Thanks
 
Andrew
 


The Answer is :

 
    Upward-compatibility is a central goal of OpenVMS. That is, any correct,
    unprivileged, user-mode program compiled with a particular compiler and
    linked on a particular version of OpenVMS is expected to run on all
    future versions of OpenVMS.
 
    The reverse is not necessarily true.  Downward-compatibility can
    sometimes be gotten to work, but it is not supported, not a goal, and
    not documented, and there is no particular certainty that any attempt
    will be successful.
 
    In the case of BASIC V1.4, the compiler kit provided a new Run-Time
    Library (RTL).  This RTL must be installed in order to run programs
    linked against it. So, for example, even though the two systems may be
    running the same version of OpenVMS, the system with the V1.3 compiler
    will need to have the V1.4 RTL installed in order to run programs linked
    in that environment.
 
    There should be no problems linking programs compiled under the V1.3
    compiler against the BASIC V1.4 RTL. However, they will then have a
    dependency on the later RTL.
 
    With most compiler products, it is generally recommended that you
    update to the latest version of the compiler. The best way out of your
    version mismatch is to simply upgrade both systems to BASIC V1.4, or
    to apply an ECO or RTL kit containing the updated BASIC RTL to the
    target system.
 
    Please see topics (3761), (5192), and (6829).
 
    Related topics include (173), (866), (1052), (1171), (1904), (2738),
    (2932), (4336), and (6049).
 
 

answer written or last revised on ( 11-OCT-2001 )

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