16.5 Past Release Version Backward Compatibility

Advances in science, subsequently built into new release versions may cause slight result differences from one release version to another. In recognition of this, if a project is completed using a specific version of the software, continued future use of that software version for that particular model is recommended to achieve identical results.

Similarly, to obtain identical results, use the same software version on the same operating system (Windows or Linux). The Windows and Linux builds produce largely identical outputs, but minor differences can arise from filesystem conventions and small numerical differences introduced by different compilers or third-party libraries used on each platform. These differences should not be significant, but bit-for-bit identical results are not guaranteed.

During the life of TUFLOW, every effort has been made to provide full backward compatibility to past release versions. Chapter 18 lists code changes that may cause a change in model result. If a legacy or old model is being upgraded to the latest TUFLOW release, it is recommended that you familiarise yourself with possible changes to the default settings that may change results, and make the necessary changes as appropriate. In nearly all cases a backward compatibility switch is provided so that new builds can reproduce past build results (see Defaults). In rare cases exact byte identical replication of a past build result may not be possible using a new release version because different compiler versions were used to create the respective executables.