Abstract: A system and method for automatically determining whether a newer version of an application programming interface (API) is backwards compatible with an older version is disclosed. The method includes comparing the two versions of the API to determine a set of atomic differences between the two versions and applying a set of backwards compatibility rules to the set of atomic differences. For each atomic difference, applying the rules includes analyzing the atomic difference to determine any applicable backwards compatibility rules and evaluating each applicable rule for the atomic difference to determine whether the atomic difference represents a violation. The method also includes storing an indication of any backwards compatibility violations from the evaluation.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for verifying whether a test API of a high-security software platform implements a reference API when a verification tool has insufficient permissions to detect one or more members of the test API. A signature is determined for a reference API implementation, which includes multiple API members. Determining the signature involves identifying a proper subset of the API members, where the subset excludes one or more API members that are not programmatically detectable by a given verification tool executing on a high-security platform that implements the reference API. The member may not be detectable by the verification tool because the tool has insufficient permission to programmatically detect the member on the high-security platform. The signature is then configured to indicate the members of the subset and not the excluded members. The signature is then stored.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for verifying whether a test API of a high-security software platform implements a reference API when a verification tool has insufficient permissions to detect one or more members of the test API. A signature is determined for a reference API implementation, which includes multiple API members. Determining the signature involves identifying a proper subset of the API members, where the subset excludes one or more API members that are not programmatically detectable by a given verification tool executing on a high-security platform that implements the reference API. The member may not be detectable by the verification tool because the tool has insufficient permission to programmatically detect the member on the high-security platform. The signature is then configured to indicate the members of the subset and not the excluded members. The signature is then stored.

Abstract: A system and method for automatically determining whether a newer version of an application programming interface (API) is backwards compatible with an older version is disclosed. The method includes comparing the two versions of the API to determine a set of atomic differences between the two versions and applying a set of backwards compatibility rules to the set of atomic differences. For each atomic difference, applying the rules includes analyzing the atomic difference to determine any applicable backwards compatibility rules and evaluating each applicable rule for the atomic difference to determine whether the atomic difference represents a violation. The method also includes storing an indication of any backwards compatibility violations from the evaluation.