Developer Resources

Version Numbers and Release Types

Each release of FDS or Smokeview is identified by a version number such as 'FDS_5.0.1' or 'SMV_5.0.1', where the first number is the Major release (5), the second number (0) is the Minor release, and the third (1) indicates the Maintenance release number.

As a general pattern Major releases will occur every year or so, and as the name implies dramatically changes the functionality or capabilities of the model. Minor releases occur every few months, and may cause minor changes in functionality. Maintenance releases are more frequent and are just bug fixes or small refinements, and should not affect code functionality. The Release Notes wiki page can help you decide whether the changes should effect the type of applications that you typically do.

To check what version of FDS is available on your computer. Type the fds executable name on the command line, without an input file name, and the relevant information will appear. Along with the version information you will see a date of compilation (useful to you) and a so-called SVN number (useful to us). The SVN number refers to the Subversion repository number of the source code. It allows us to go back in time and recover the exact source code files that were used to build that executable.

How to Use the Subversion (SVN) Repository

The FDS-SMV project provides source file revision management and access through the Subversion revision management system.

Information about connecting to the FDS-SMV Subversion (SVN) repository is in the Project Wiki page titled, "AccessingSubversionRepository". This Wiki page will be updated by the developer team, if changes are made to the method of accessing the repository. If the instructions on the page do not work for you, please create a new report in the FDS-SMV Project Issue Tracker.

Compiling Instructions

(Coming Soon)