Talk:Backward compatibility

So that this article doesn't promote any specific products, and to make the description more generic (so that this page won't need to be updated when the mentioned products go out of style), I suggest that we remove the product names from this article. I am happy to do it, I just wanted to know if anybody cared.

Upward is Backward, Downward is Forward

After conducting some research into the matter, it appears that Downward Compatibility actually means Forward Compatibility. Refer to the following Sun documents for examples of this usage.

http://java.sun.com/javase/compatibility_j2se1.4.1.html

Here is an excerpt.

"The Java 2 SDK, v1.4.1 is upwards binary-compatible with Java 2 SDK, v1.4.0 except for the incompatibilities listed below. This means that, except for the noted incompatibilities, class files built with version 1.4.0 compilers will run correctly in the Java 2 SDK, v1.4.1."

Sun's documents always refer to the earlier versions as the "upward" versions; hence, in the sense of compatibility, "upward" is "backward" and "downward" is "forward".

Suggest changing the redirects appropriately.

Difference between 1+3?

Is there any material difference between meaning 1 and meaning 3? (or meaning 2, for that matter) --Dtcdthingy 16:00, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

Native and Emulated

I think this article should point out the difference between native and emulated backwards compatibility. For example the XBOX 360 uses emulated backwards compatibility while the Playsation 360 supposedly is natively backwards compatible.

On a further note on that the extent of backwards compatibility should be covered in the main article. In some of the examples, the indicated system provides full (software and hardware) backwards compatibility, but some only provide software backwards compatibility as the hardward lacks all the features that the original hardware possesed (ie. Playstation 3 controllers lack rumble functionality)

Has a grammarian read this??

Hopiakuta 22:43, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Master System and Game Gear

The Sega Game Gear can play Sega Master System games by adding a "Master Gear".

Does this actually count as backwards compatibility? I don't think of the Game Gear as a successor to the Master System. After all, weren't they roughly technologically equivalent? From what I remember, the versions of games released for each were the same, or at least very similar. I suppose you could say that the Game Gear was a successor in that it was a much more compact version of the Master System, but I still think this is just compatibility (I'd call it 'sideways compatibility', but that's probably a bit redundant). — TheJames 15:33, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

ColecoVision and Intellivision

Backward compatibility is the special case of compatibility in which the new server has a direct historical ancestral relationship with the old server. If this special relationship does not exist then it not usually spoken of as "backward" compatibility but is instead just "compatible" — a consistent interface allowing interoperability between components and products that were each developed separately.

[...]

• The Colecovision can play Atari 2600 games by adding the "Expansion Module #1".
• The Intellivision can play Atari 2600 games by adding the "System Changer".

OK, I'm not particularly familiar with either of those systems, but since neither were manufactured by Atari, could they really be said to have a 'direct historical ancestral relationship'? — TheJames 15:33, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Funny stuff

When I searched for "aidepikiw" in Google I got this article as the first result! --WikiSlasher 14:34, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Hysterical raisins

Added section on hysterical raisins here, to fix a link that once existed to hysterical raisins, which was since deleted. It feels a little out of place, though: I wouldn't argue a revert, or at least a better rewording. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by DewiMorgan (talk • contribs) 22:16, 14 May 2007 (UTC).

The words Client and Server should be removed

The words 'client' and 'server' in their normal IT usage are not relevant here, or at best confusing). People, like me, can be misled into thinking that backward compatability is only applicable in a client-server environment (eg. client = browser, server = webserver) which is clearly not true.

• People who have studied computer science have no trouble understanding the words client and server in the abstract sense that is used in the article. If anything, using client and server makes it more obvious than any other words I can think of to describe the "things involved in a relationship of backwards compatibility". What other words would you suggest? Note that without any further qualification the word "server" is an abstract concept and does not denote any specific kind of server, so I don't see why anyone should be confused.

Backward compatibility vs emulation

So someone had edited my contribution saying that this article does not deal with emulation--that's fine. But what perplexes me is that he kept Mac OS X's thing but deleted Wine. Seems completely backwards to me. Plus it might be put into question weather or not DOSBox should be counted here; even though it emulates a 486 PC and has the possibility of emulating operating systems other than the built-in one, most people simply use it to run DOS games; especially on Windows NT where the DOS subsystem is unable to run most games. For now, I'm just leaving the Windows NT subsystems and Wine notes, both of them are designed to simulate the ABIs of other systems without emulating any hardware (or even an operating system). --Mike 22:56, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

That someone was me, so it's more than appopriate to call me out on the edit rather than be circumspect. To be honest, I nearly pitched the "Classic" environment addition, as well. The reason I retained it (and the NT-related writing) is that they are both very clear examples of planned backward compatibility along/within product lines. The WINE/DosBox/QEMU-VMWare-VirtualPC additions discussed emulation in terms of product replacement. It's probably a difference without a distinction now that I review the positioning of this article's subject from the head downwards. I do think this article needs further expansion to balance the examples, but that cannot be laid at your feet. D. Brodale 02:37, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Sorry if I sounded harsh against you, I was simply confused on the matters of the edit. Having a more precise definition of backward compatible on Wikipedia would be difficult, since there's so many conflicting definitions of it anyway (eg, people saying the Wii is "backwards compatible" with the NES, even though it really uses emulation and ROM images). --Mike 20:39, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

I don't take it as harsh at all, as I provided my rationale for the original removals and can see your POV as well. If an adequate definition cannot be supplied, I think that may point to a larger issue in terms of this article's scope that should be addressed. D. Brodale 21:20, 17 October 2007 (UTC)