Compatibility

The term compatibility has the following meanings:

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• In telecommunication, the capability of two or more items or components of equipment or material to exist or function in the same system or environment without mutual interference.
• In computing, the ability to execute a given program on different types of computers without modification of the program or the computers. See backward compatibility.
• The capability that allows the substitution of one subsystem (storage facility), or of one functional unit (e.g., hardware, software), for the originally designated system or functional unit in a relatively transparent manner, without loss of information and without the introduction of errors.
• In structural analysis, the continuity or good fit of material or members or components while being deformed.