id	summary	reporter	owner	description	type	status	priority	milestone	component	version	resolution	keywords	cc
294	Multics should warn if it is running on an old DPS 8/M simulator	David Rosenberg	Eric Swenson	"The DPS 8/M simulator has had bugs (and the newest version may well have bugs that haven't been detected yet). In general, newer versions have improvements of various kinds: bug fixes, performance enhancements, code simplification, etc. We want to encourage people running Multics on a DPS 8/M simulator to use the latest version of the simulator - or to be warned that they are running an earlier version. As of R3.0.0 the DPS 8/M simulator has PROM fields describing the type of the simulator release (Alpha release, Beta release, Release candidate, Development release, General release, or Unknown Release type) in byte 144 (octal)), the release version (consisting of the four fields, major release number in bytes 120-122 (octal), minor release number in bytes 123-125 (octal), patch number in bytes 126-130 (octal), and iteration number in bytes 131-133 (octal)), and the most recent commit included in the current build of the simulator (formatted as YYYY‑MM‑DD in bytes 106‑117 (octal)).

If the simulator is not a general release or is an earlier version of the simulator than the latest known version of the simulator when the currently running version of Multics was released, or the commit date in bytes 106‑117 (octal) is earlier than the commit date in the latest known version of the simulator when the currently running version of Multics was released, Multics should warn the user during the Multics boot process. It should be possible for the user to continue running on that simulator, if he chooses to - but he should be made aware that he is running on an older version of the simulator."	enhancement	closed	minor	MR12.8	Hardcore	MR12.7	fixed	Boot, DPS8/M, Simulator