System and method for assessing compatibility risk

A computer-based method for assessing the risk of binary compatibility failure between a first binary file and an operating system interface, comprising:

• receiving a file, the file comprising a binary file identifier, the results of a binary compatibility test between the binary file and the operating system interface, and a list of Unix symbols and libraries invoked by the binary file;
• generating an undetermined record if the results of the binary compatibility test were indeterminate;
• generating a failure record if the binary file invokes symbols that are not supported by the operating system interface;
• generating a failure record if the binary file either invokes a library that has known problems or private symbols that have been demoted;
• generating a high risk record if the binary file invokes a library that has one or more changed behaviors;
• generating a low risk record if the binary file performs static linking to unchanged system libraries or contains unchanged private symbols;
• generating a guarantee eligible record if the binary file passed all tests for binary compatibility;
• and
• storing the generated records in a computer readable medium.

A computer program product for use in connection with a processor for assessing the risk of binary compatibility failure between a first binary file and a first software module, comprising:

• logic instructions, executable on a processor, for receiving a listing of symbols and libraries used in the first binary file;
• logic instructions, executable on a processor, for processing the listing of symbols and libraries used in the first binary file, wherein the processing comprises comparing the received listing of symbols and libraries with a list of symbols supported by the first software module;
• and
• logic instructions, executable on a processor, for generating a record indicating the risk of binary compatibility failure between the first binary file and the first software module based on results of the Processing of the listing of symbols and libraries.