When your application connects to Firehose, it sends an initiation command that can optionally specify a version number that indicates the protocol version of the responses that your application has been designed for.

Over time, FlightAware will introduce new version numbers that may add new element names to existing messages or change the behavior of existing elements.

Applications that specify an older version number in their initiation commands will continue to receive messages that conform as closely as technically possible to that older version. If your application does not specify a specific version number in its initiation command, then it will always receive data conforming to the latest version number supported by the server.

We recommend that customers design their applications to always explicitly request the current Firehose version number at the time of publishing. Additionally, it is highly recommended that your application be updated to explicitly request the latest version when new Firehose versions are announced or published. This will ensure that you are able to benefit from all of the latest improvements, which can sometimes improve the data quality.

In general, FlightAware will send an email to all Firehose customers at least a month in advance of any new version number being officially released. The email will include a description of the changes and provide an opportunity for accessing a test server containing a preview version prior to its release.

Firehose Documentation Center

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