System and method for providing checkpointing with precompile directives and supporting software to produce checkpoints, independent of environment constraints

A method for portable checkpointing comprising the steps of: pre-compiling an input source code; and outputting an associated output source code which includes support for portable checkpointing. The portability of the checkpoints allows migration between systems with different hardware, software, and operating systems.The portable checkpoints are stored in a Universal Code Format (UCF) and are selectively activated at the next potential checkpoint marker after a MinTBC (Minimum Time Between Checkpoints) timer expires.