Binary Compatibility

[dba01]

I need some understanding on something a 3rd party application vendor is telling me.
We have a 3rd party application currently running on Oracle Version 9.2.0.4. The vendor is wanting us to upgrade to either 9.2.05 or 9.2.0.7 'cause one of the components this application uses is certified on those versions. I specifically asked him as to what was the problem they were hitting if and when they tried certifying on Oracle Version 9.2.0.4. His response is as follows:

There aren't any specific features in 9205 that are required for router 157. The reason we require Oracle version 9205/9206/9207 is due to Oracle's statement of binary compatibility.
We compiled Router 157 with Oracle 9205. Oracle states that our compiled code is now compatible only with versions of Oracle that have the same first 3 digits of the release version, and the same or higher number in the 4th digit. 9204 has a lower number in the 4th digit of the release, so Oracle has no statement of binary compatibility. Simply stated... you are trying to run a compiled version of Router with a version of Oracle older than what we built with.

I have always tried to let the vendors control the first two digits of Oracle Versioning for their products. The 4th digit onwards I have always felt is Operating System specific.
In our environment we have over 85 Oracle environments and we try to keep most of our databases at the same release. That way it helps us keep a standardised environment that is better manageable.

I would appreciate it if someone guided me or even pointed me to some documents that would tell me about the binary compatibility within the Oracle releases.

Thank You in advance,
DBA01

[davey23uk]

the vendor should always control what version, the 4th number is not os specific. It fixes a number of bugs / security issues.

if they havent tested their app against 9.2.0.4 and you are using it, then expect problems

You should always use the version that the app has been compiled against in case the libraries have changed

in short, the vendor is spot on

[dba01]

Thanks