I'm fighting with timeStamp and old code checking size of timeStamp and this is why we should improve the infrastructure and in particular code management. Stef timeStamp "Answer the authoring time-stamp for the given method, retrieved from the sources or changes file. Answer the empty string if no time stamp is available." "(CompiledMethod compiledMethodAt: #timeStamp) timeStamp" | file preamble stamp tokens tokenCount | self fileIndex = 0 ifTrue: [^ String new]. "no source pointer for this method" file := SourceFiles at: self fileIndex. file ifNil: [^ String new]. "sources file not available" "file does not exist happens in secure mode" file := [file readOnlyCopy] on: FileDoesNotExistException do:[:ex| ^ String new]. preamble := self getPreambleFrom: file at: (0 max: self filePosition - 3). stamp := String new. tokens := (preamble findString: 'methodsFor:' startingAt: 1) > 0 ifTrue: [Scanner new scanTokens: preamble] ifFalse: [Array new "ie cant be back ref"]. (((tokenCount := tokens size) between: 7 and: 8) and: [(tokens at: tokenCount - 5) = #methodsFor:]) ifTrue: [(tokens at: tokenCount - 3) = #stamp: ifTrue: ["New format gives change stamp and unified prior pointer" stamp := tokens at: tokenCount - 2]]. ((tokenCount between: 5 and: 6) and: [(tokens at: tokenCount - 3) = #methodsFor:]) ifTrue: [(tokens at: tokenCount - 1) = #stamp: ifTrue: ["New format gives change stamp and unified prior pointer" stamp := tokens at: tokenCount]]. file close. ^ stamp there are a couple of method with such logic. Stef