ISAcompatible

ISAcompatible refers to hardware or software that adheres to the specifications of the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus. The ISA bus was a foundational component in early personal computers, particularly IBM PCs and their compatibles. It provided a standardized way for expansion cards, such as graphics cards, sound cards, and network interfaces, to communicate with the motherboard.

When a device or system is described as ISA compatible, it means it can work with or function on an ISA bus. This was crucial for the widespread adoption and interoperability of PC components. Manufacturers could create expansion cards that would, in theory, work in any PC that supported the ISA standard.

Over time, the ISA bus became a bottleneck due to its limited speed and bandwidth compared to newer bus architectures like PCI and AGP. Consequently, its prominence declined, and modern computers no longer feature ISA slots. However, the legacy of ISA compatibility shaped the early development of the PC industry and established the concept of standardized expansion interfaces. Some specialized industrial or legacy systems might still incorporate ISA compatibility for backward support.