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Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Backward compatible

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

adjectiveCommon term

In software engineering, backward compatible means: Still working with older versions, data or clients after a change, so existing users do not have to update their code or settings.

In Turkish: geriye dönük uyumlu, geri uyumlu

How it is used

Also written 'backwards compatible', which is more common in British English. The noun is backward compatibility. Adding an optional field to an API is usually backward compatible; renaming a field is a breaking change. Teams promise to stay backward compatible within a major version.

Example sentences

  1. Make the new parameter optional so the change stays backward compatible.

  2. Version 3 is not backward compatible, so older mobile apps will stop working.

Common collocations

  • stay backward compatible
  • backward compatibility
  • fully backward compatible
  • break backward compatibility
  • breaking changeA change to an API, library or file format that makes existing code that uses it stop working unless that code is updated too.
  • semantic versioningA version-numbering rule with three parts, MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH: the first number changes for breaking changes, the second for new features and the third for bug fixes.
  • deprecateTo officially mark a feature, function or API as outdated and not recommended, usually as a warning that it will be removed in a later version.
  • APIShort for application programming interface: a set of rules that lets one program ask another program for data or actions in a fixed, documented way.

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

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