BACKWARD COMBATABILITY
\bˈakwəd kˌɒmbatəbˈɪlɪti], \bˈakwəd kˌɒmbatəbˈɪlɪti], \b_ˈa_k_w_ə_d k_ˌɒ_m_b_a_t_ə_b_ˈɪ_l_ɪ_t_i]\
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/bak'w*d k*m-bat'*-bil'*-tee/ (Play on "backwardcompatibility") A property of hardware or software revisionsin which previous protocols, formats, layouts, etc. areirrevocably discarded in favour of "new and improved"protocols, formats and layouts, leaving the previous ones notmerely deprecated but actively defeated. (Too often, the oldand new versions cannot definitively be distinguished, suchthat lingering instances of the previous ones yield crashes orother infelicitous effects, as opposed to a simple "versionmismatch" message.) A backward compatible change, on theother hand, allows old versions to coexist without crashes orerror messages, but too many major changes incorporatingelaborate backward compatibility processing can lead toextreme software bloat.See also flag day.
By Denis Howe
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