In technology (especially computing), backward compatibility has several related but differing meanings:
A system is backward compatible if it is compatible with earlier versions of itself, or sometimes other earlier systems, particularly systems it intends to supplant. That is, other systems or objects that interoperate with the old version of the system should continue to interoperate with the new version. For example, a PlayStation 2 is backward compatible with the PlayStation 1. A Game Boy Advance is backward compatible with the previous Game Boy systems. This means you can play games like Tetris on Game Boy Advance and games like Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation 2.
A program is backward compatible if it can share data with an earlier version of itself. For example, WordPerfect 6.0 can read WordPerfect 5.1 files, so it is backward compatible. It can be said that Perl is backward compatible with awk, because Perl was (among other things) intended to replace awk, and can, with a converter, run awk programs.
A library or platform is said to be backward compatible if programs that interfaced with the old version continue to work with the new version as well. For example, the Intel 80486The Intel 80486 i486 486 is a range of Intel CISC microprocessors which is part of the Intel x86 family of processors. From a software point of view, the instruction set of the 486 family is very similar to its immediate predecessor, the Intel 80386, with processor is backward compatible with the 80386The Intel 80386 is a microprocessor which was used as the central processing unit (CPU) of many personal computers from 1986 until 1994 and later. During its design phase the processor was code-named simply P3 the third-generation processor in the x86 lin because it can execute programs written for the 80386.
We distinguish between binary compatibility and source-compatibilityIn computing, a device (usually a computer processor) that can run the same source code intended to be compiled and run on another device is said to be source-compatible . The source code must be compiled before running, unless the device can work as an I. Binary compatibility means that programs can work correctly with the new version of this library without requiring recompilationA compiler is a computer program that translates a computer program written in one computer language (called the source language into an equivalent program written in another computer language (called the output or the target language . Introduction and h. Source compatibility requires recompilation but no changes to the source code.
See also
legacy systemA legacy system is typically a computer system or application program which continues to be used because the cost of replacing or redesigning it is prohibitive. The implication is that the system is large, monolithic, and difficult (thus expensive) to mod, forward compatibilityForward compatibility is the ability of a system to accept input from later versions of itself. Forward compatibility is harder to achieve than backward compatibility, since, in the backward case, the input format is known whereas a forward compatible sys, source-compatibilityIn computing, a device (usually a computer processor) that can run the same source code intended to be compiled and run on another device is said to be source-compatible . The source code must be compiled before running, unless the device can work as an Itechnology
