From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Technological compatibility of software and hardware
A family of
computer
models is said to be
compatible
if certain
software
that runs on one of the models can also be run on all other models of the family. The computer models may differ in
performance
,
reliability
or some other characteristic. These differences may affect the outcome of the running of the software.
Software compatibility
[
edit
]
Software compatibility can refer to the compatibility that a particular software has running on a particular
CPU architecture
such as Intel or
PowerPC
.
[1]
Software compatibility can also refer to ability for the software to run on a particular
operating system
. Very rarely is a
compiled software
compatible with multiple different CPU architectures. Normally, an application is compiled for different CPU architectures and operating systems to allow it to be compatible with the different system.
Interpreted software
, on the other hand, can normally run on many different CPU architectures and operating systems if the interpreter is available for the architecture or operating system.
Software incompatibility
occurs many times for new software released for a newer version of an operating system which is incompatible with the older version of the operating system because it may miss some of the features and functionality that the software depends on.
Hardware compatibility
[
edit
]
Hardware compatibility can refer to the compatibility of computer hardware components with a particular
CPU architecture
, bus,
motherboard
or
operating system
.
[1]
Hardware that is compatible may not always run at its highest stated performance, but it can nevertheless work with
legacy components
. An example is
RAM
chips, some of which can run at a lower (or sometimes higher)
clock rate
than rated.
[2]
Hardware that was designed for one operating system may not work for another, if device or kernel drivers are unavailable. As an example, Android is not able to be run on a phone with iOS.
[3]
Free and open-source software
[
edit
]
Sometimes, FOSS is not compatible with proprietary hardware or specific software. This is often due to manufacturers obstructing FOSS such as by not disclosing the
interfaces
or other specifications needed for members of the FOSS movement to write
drivers
for their hardware - for instance as they wish customers to run only their own proprietary software or as they might benefit from partnerships.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Fields
| |
---|
Concepts
| |
---|
Orientations
| |
---|
Models
| Developmental
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
Languages
| |
---|
|
---|
Related fields
| |
---|
|