read.S can read the binary files produced in most recent
versions of S-PLUS on either Windows (versions 3.x, 4.x, 2000) or Unix
(version 3.x with 4 byte integers). It automatically detects whether the
file was produced on a big- or little-endian machine and adapts itself
accordingly. data.restore can read a similar range of files
produced by data.dump. Not all S3 objects can be handled in the current version. The most
frequently encountered exceptions are functions and expressions; you will
also have trouble with objects that contain model formulas. In
particular, comments will be lost from function bodies, and the
argument lists of functions will often be changed.
The SModeNames variable contains a list of the modes of variables
as used in S3.