Patent ID: 7730476

Claim:
In a computer system including a first field-programmable unit including first field-programmable unit (FPU) of a first type, the first FPU including first field-programmable code, a second FPU of a second type including a second FPU code, a plurality of field-programmable units including a corresponding plurality of FPU codes, a computer-implemented method comprising steps of: (A) determining whether the first FPU and the first FPU code are compatible with the second FPU and second FPU code; (B) if the first FPU and the first FPU code are determined not to be compatible with the second FPU and second FPU code, notifying a user of the computer system of the incompatibility, wherein the step (A) comprises a step of: (A)(1) determining whether the first FPU code is compatible with at least one of the plurality of FPU codes, wherein the computer system further comprises a plurality of field-replaceable units, and wherein the step (A) further comprises a step of: (A)(2) determining whether the first FPU code is compatible with the plurality of field-replaceable units, wherein the computer system further comprises a revision compatibility descriptor identifying a plurality of compatible combinations of field-programmable unit codes, and wherein the step (A)(1) comprises a step of determining that the first FPU code is compatible with the plurality of FPU codes if a combination of the first FPU code and the plurality of FPU codes is among the plurality of compatible combinations of field-programmable unit codes identified by the revision compatibility descriptor.