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What is backward compatibility in programming?
Backward compatible (or sometimes backward-compatible or backwards compatible) refers to a hardware or software system that can successfully use interfaces and data from earlier versions of the system or with other systems.
Is backwards compatibility necessary?
Backwards compatibility is a convenience, not something we should demand a console to have. It just creates more problems than it solves for console developers and might even cause other, more important features to be cut out.
Does it matter which programming language you use?
For a good programmer the programming language doesn’t really matter. What really matters is to know different programming paradigms and patterns and choose the right one for your project. Knowing only the words and syntax of many programming languages won’t make you a good programmer.
Can we use a different programming language Why?
The answer to why we have different programming languages is because they do different things to some degree. There are indeed cases where something could have written the same way in multiple languages, and you picked the one that you prefer.
Is it good to keep a programming language backwards compatible?
First, some context (stuff that most of you know anyway): Every popular programming language has a clear evolution, most of the time marked by its version: you have Java 5, 6, 7 etc., PHP 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 etc. Releasing a new version makes new APIs available, fixes bugs, adds new features, new frameworks etc. So all in all: it’s good.
Is it worth it to break backwards compatibility?
Yes, the downside is that you break backwards compatibility. But isn’t that a price worth paying ? As an upside, in 3 or 4 years you’ll have a language that has 90 % of its problems fixed…. a language much more pleasant to work with.
Is the evolution of a programming language good?
Every popular programming language has a clear evolution, most of the time marked by its version: you have Java 5, 6, 7 etc., PHP 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 etc. Releasing a new version makes new APIs available, fixes bugs, adds new features, new frameworks etc. So all in all: it’s good. But what about the language’s (or platform’s) problems?
Which is more backwards compatible, PHP or Python?
Php is in a much more precarious position, because a lot of people only stick with it because of its large existing code base. If you lost backwards compatibility, a lot of people would take the opportunity they’ve been waiting for to move to python. For any language other than PHP I’d say, yeah, that absolutely makes sense!