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Proposal 4: Definition of a FITS version keyword

Definition

FITSVERS keyword. The value field of this optional reserved keyword shall contain a floating-point number that corresponds to the version of the FITS Standard document to which the FITS file was designed to conform. This keyword may only appear in the primary header and must not appear in an extension header.

Discussion

This keyword may be used to indicate which version of the FITS Standard document was current when the FITS file was designed. FITS reading software may potentially use this information to decide whether or not it is prepared to handle a FITS file of this particular vintage, or to anticipate which particular FITS format conventions may or may not be present in the file.

For the record, here is the complete list of all the past and current versions of the FITS Standard:

       Version     Publication Date
         1.0         6/1993
         1.1         9/1995
         1.2         4/1998
         2.0         3/1999
         2.1        12/2005  (also known as version 2.1b)
         3.0         7/2008  (current version)