updating notebooks prepared for older versions of Mathematica

Questions
,
1

I am trying to follow along some old notebooks written for older versions of Mathematica. I find that they have commands of the following type :

<< Graphics`Graphics3D` 
<< Graphics`ParametricPlot3D`

Error messages show up for these commands. I have attempted to just erase these commands. Sometimes it helps, but othertimes, errors show up at later points. I could prepare a list of the various commands and the error messages. Before doing that, I just want to be informed at a more general level about the changes in the later versions of Mathematica.
I would appreciate it if I can get help on the following points:

  1. Is a call to load the packages needed only for “Standard Extra Packages” and any other external packages? Is there any reason why a call to packages like Graphics has been made unnecessary now?
  2. Is it sufficient to remove the calls like << Graphics`Graphics3D` from old notebooks? Are there any associated commands that need to be edited? Is there any documentation on this? Are there any tools for updating automatically “old” notebooks?
    Thanks.
2
  1. a) Yes. Functions that are in add-on packages (bundled with Mathematica or acquired separately)
    need to be loaded from their packages.

b) For the packages in your examples, the functions (or equivalents) have been added to Mathematica and
there is no longer a need to load packages for them.

  1. a) It depends on which functions you are using from which packages.

b) It depends on which functions you are using from which packages.

c) Yes, http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/Compatibility/guide/StandardPackageCompatibilityGuide.html
To learn about converting from the Graphics`ParametricPlot3D` package, click on Graphics` and in the
next window, click on Graphics`ParametricPlot3D`.
This can be found in the (Help menu) Documentation Center by searching for the word Compatibility.

d) Yes, the Version Advisory is still available in Mathematica 9. See
http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/ref/menuitem/VersionAdvisory.html, under Details.
(For versions 6-8, this would appear automatically when a pre-version-6 notebook was opened.)
The instructions say “right-click”; on a one-button Macintosh, Control-Click is the equivalent.