Kompatiblust

Kompatiblust is a design philosophy and evaluative metric used in software engineering to describe the ability of a system to remain usable across releases while allowing meaningful evolution. The term blends concepts of compatibility and robustness, emphasizing stable interfaces and gradual improvement rather than disruptive change.

The term is a coinage that blends elements of compatibility and robustness; its precise origin is unclear, but it has appeared in speculative discussions about software maintenance and interoperability.

Core principles include backward compatibility, interface stability, semantic versioning, and clear deprecation policies, along with modular architecture, exposure of stable contracts, and measurable compatibility through test suites and compatibility matrices.

Practices commonly associated with kompatiblust include contract-based interfaces, automated compatibility testing, the use of shims or polyfills to bridge older and newer environments, and feature flags to enable progressive rollout without breaking existing customers.

Applications span libraries and APIs, operating systems, hardware abstraction layers, and cloud services that span multiple platforms or versions.

Criticism centers on potential constraints on innovation, increased maintenance costs, and ambiguity in defining what constitutes a compatible change.

See also backward compatibility, semantic versioning, deprecation policy.