What If You Don't Run the Tools?

If you have chosen the "Quick Start" approach described in Chapter 3 “Planning a System Upgrade ”, you should not need to spend too much time on the tasks described in this chapter before you upgrade. Some time before the next major release of HP-UX, you will need to convert your code and scripts, but initially you can rely on transition links to protect you from pathname changes.

Transition links (sometimes referred to as "fast transition links" or "compatibility links") are installed by default on all 10.x systems and will be in effect on your system when you come up on 10.01, unless you specifically choose not to install the UPG-TLINK fileset. They link HP-UX 9.x "system" pathnames to their 10.x equivalents, and they are intended to reduce the amount of conversion work you will have to do on 9.x code and scripts when you first come up on 10.01.

But there could be problems transition links will not solve. For example, if your code uses commands or system calls that are no longer supported or whose options or behavior have changed, or if it builds or makes reference to 9.x device files (other than "default" names such as /dev/lp which are still recognized by HP-UX), you will have to fix it. The tools described in this chapter will help.