Technical data

1
Introduction
This chapter contains information about the following topics:
• OpenVMS releases
• Upgrade paths
• Support policy
1.1 OpenVMS Releases
The following sections describe the differences in OpenVMS releases. Full
upward compatibility of user-mode code is part of any OpenVMS release.
1.1.1 OpenVMS Major Release
The purpose of a major release is to identify to our customers and application
providers that we are providing significant new features, particularly changes to
kernel interfaces and kernel-mode data structures. These changes may require
the recoding or recompilation of applications that use these privileged-mode
interfaces. Full upward compatibility of user-mode code is expected.
An example of a major release is OpenVMS Alpha Version 6.0 or OpenVMS
Version 7.0. Major releases are sometimes referred to as point-zero releases.
Major releases are shipped to all customers with the appropriate software service
contracts.
1.1.2 OpenVMS New Feature Release
The purpose of a new feature release is to provide new features, as well as
enhancements to existing features and maintenance updates. These changes do
not generally require recoding or recompiling of privileged-mode applications.
Full upward compatibility of user-mode code is expected.
An example of a new feature release is OpenVMS VAX Version 6.2 or OpenVMS
Alpha Version 7.3. New feature releases are sometimes referred to as point
releases.
New feature releases are shipped to all customers with the appropriate software
service contracts.
1.1.3 OpenVMS Minor Release
The purpose of a minor release is to provide some new features, enhancements
to existing features, new hardware and option support, and maintenance for
the previous release. Minor releases are not expected to have any impact on
applications. Full upward compatibility of user-mode code is expected.
An example of a minor release is OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.2-1 or OpenVMS
VAX Version 5.5-2. Minor releases are sometimes referred to as dash releases.
Introduction 1–1