Compatibility Glossary

Browse 17 compatibility terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

17 Compatibility Terms

ABI
ABI, or Application Binary Interface, defines the low-level interface between two binary program modules, specifying how functions are called, how data is laid...
API Versioning
Strategies for evolving an API without breaking existing clients. Common approaches: URL path (/v1/users, /v2/users), query parameter (?version=2), custom...
Backward Compatible
Describing a change that still works with older clients, data, integrations, or assumptions rather than forcing everything to upgrade at once. Backward...
Breaking Change
A change to software that causes dependent code to stop working. Renaming a function, removing a parameter, changing a return type — anything that makes...
Browser Compatibility
The extent to which an application behaves correctly across different browsers, browser versions, and rendering engines. Browser compatibility work includes...
Browser Feature Detection
The practice of checking whether a browser actually supports a capability before using it, instead of relying on user-agent strings or assumptions about...
Browser Tax
The extra time, code, and testing effort required because browsers behave differently or impose awkward constraints. In frontend slang, browser tax is the...
Compatibility
The ability of software, data, APIs, or environments to work correctly together despite differences in version, platform, or implementation. Compatibility is a...
Reverse Dependency
A package or project that depends on another package, viewed from the perspective of the depended-on package rather than the consumer. Reverse dependency...
Rust Edition
A Rust language edition, which groups language and tooling changes under a compatibility-managed milestone without fracturing the ecosystem into incompatible...
Semantic Versioning
A versioning scheme (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) where MAJOR indicates breaking changes, MINOR adds backwards-compatible features, and PATCH fixes bugs. Enables...
Shim
A thin layer of code that intercepts and translates API calls, providing compatibility between old and new interfaces or filling in missing functionality....
Stable API
An API that is expected to remain compatible across releases or to change only under clearly signaled rules. In platform culture, calling an API stable is a...
Upgrade Path
The supported route by which users or systems can move from one version, tier, or architecture to another with acceptable risk. Good products make the upgrade...
Version Hell
A state where conflicting versions of libraries, runtimes, or tools make it hard to build, run, or integrate software reliably. It is closely related to...
Versioning
The practice of assigning and managing versions for software, APIs, schemas, or artifacts over time. In engineering culture, versioning is how teams...
Version Policy
The documented rules a project uses to decide when and how version numbers change, how long versions are supported, and what compatibility promises they imply....

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