Revision Compatibility

Doric's products exhibit the highest level of compatibility between versions and across platforms of any RAD/RDBMs. This is the result of a concerted policy to give our customers the chance to take full advantage of hardware and software developments at minimum cost and disruption to essential business systems. In many cases systems will run unchanged without recompilation when moving up several versions, transferring platforms or even when moving to a different hardware architecture. For a definitive answer to any compatibility question please contact Support. The following notes give a general background.


INFO

Data

All data files in all versions are fully compatible within the same operating system. In most cases INFO data files (DAT) are also fully compatible across platforms. The major area where problems can arise is with Binary and Floating Point data where different machine architechtures may require data conversion when changing platforms. This is also true of data held in external data files e.g. proprietary indexed file systems such as Midas, RMS, C-ISAM, for which a comprehensive set of tools and services is available from Doric.

Item Templates

Item templates (NIT) files are generally fine except in changes from old INFO-only versions to combined INFO/INFO-TEXT versions e.g. between INFO 9.23 and 9.70. Templates may also require conversion when changing platforms.

Source Code

Source code compatibility is also very high for programs, input forms, special forms and reports. Even where major changes in functionality have occurred, current releases offer backward compatibility modes to emulate previous versions without change to code. INFO can run concurrently in different emulation modes for the same user for different INFO systems or even dynamically change emulation while running a

Object Code

Often object code will work without recompilation; however recompilation may be required in certain cases, particulary when moving through several version changes which include major revisions to the system items layout e.g. when moving from 9.2 to 9.4, or 9.43 to 9.70.

Operating System Specifics

Where operating system commands or O/S specific features are used in systems, changes may be required to code and data. However, these can be minimised by use of our specialist porting tools and new features which interface to O/S specific elements (such as VMS logicals or PRIMOS abbreviations) from a consistent cross-platform INFO implementation.
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INFO-Text

Data

The same considerations apply as with INFO systems, with the additional complication of handling whatever text or word-processing files are used for the source text.

Item Templates

Typically these will only require conversion when moving between different platforms.

Source Code

As per INFO.

Object Code

As per INFO.

Operating System Specifics

INFO-Text systems may be particularly affected by changes in file system syntax e.g. when moving from PRIMOS to UNIX.

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STRUCTURE/4

S/4 is source compatible across platforms and Doric supplies a standard range of utilities to help customers port to a new environment, whether it be VMS, OpenVMS or UNIX. Included in these utilities are data conversion tools that will convert all defined data types - including binary and floating-point. Data can be converted or reformated between different data types or hardware platforms. Customers may wish to submit a tape to the Doric Porting Centre in Cambridge, England for evaluation. Doric Computer Systems has extensive experience in providing training, consulting services, and offering advice on porting issues not only for S/4, but also for INFO, COBOL, ISAM, and full RDBMS applications.