# Computer compatibility > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Computer_compatibility > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Computer_compatibility.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_compatibility > Source revision: 1341655271 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Technological compatibility of software and hardware}} {{Use American English|date = March 2019}} A family of [computer](/source/computer) models is said to be '''compatible''' if certain [software](/source/software) that runs on one of the models can also be run on all other models of the family. The computer models may differ in [performance](/source/Computer_performance), [reliability](/source/Reliability_engineering) or some other characteristic. These differences may affect the outcome of the running of the software. =={{anchor|Software}}Software compatibility== Software compatibility can refer to the compatibility that a particular software has running on a particular [CPU instruction set](/source/Instruction_set_architecture) such as x86 or ARM.{{Cite web |title=What is compatibility? {{!}} Definition from TechTarget |url=https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/compatibility |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=WhatIs |language=en}} Software compatibility can also refer to ability for the software to run on a particular [operating system](/source/operating_system). Very rarely is a [compiled software](/source/Object_file) compatible with multiple different CPU architectures. Normally, an application is compiled for different CPU architectures and operating systems to allow it to be compatible with the different system. [Interpreted software](/source/Interpreter_(computing)), on the other hand, can normally run on many different CPU architectures and operating systems if the interpreter is available for the architecture or operating system. [Software incompatibility](/source/Software_incompatibility) occurs many times for new software released for a newer version of an operating system which is incompatible with the older version of the operating system because it may miss some of the features and functionality that the software depends on.{{cn|date=March 2026}} ==Hardware compatibility== Hardware compatibility can refer to the compatibility of [computer hardware](/source/computer_hardware) components with a particular [CPU architecture](/source/CPU_architecture), [bus](/source/I%2FO_bus), [motherboard](/source/motherboard), [peripheral](/source/peripheral_device) or [operating system](/source/operating_system). Hardware that is compatible may not always run at its highest stated performance, but it can nevertheless work with [legacy components](/source/Legacy_system). An example is [RAM](/source/random-access_memory) chips, some of which can run at a lower (or sometimes higher) [clock rate](/source/clock_rate) than rated.{{Cite web |last=Glawion |first=Alex |date=2022-05-02 |title=Why Is My RAM Not Running at Full Speed? [5 Reasons and How To Fix] |url=https://www.cgdirector.com/ram-not-running-at-full-speed/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=CGDirector |language=en-US}} Hardware that was designed for one operating system may not work for another, if device or kernel drivers are unavailable. As an example, Android is not able to be run on a phone with iOS.{{Cite web |title=Can I install a custom OS on iPhone 5s? |url=https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/378036/can-i-install-a-custom-os-on-iphone-5s |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Ask Different |language=en}} ==Free and open-source software== {{Main|Free and open-source software}} {{#section-h:Free and open-source software|Hardware and software compatibility}} ==See also== {{div col}} * [Compatibility layer](/source/Compatibility_layer) * [Interchangeability](/source/Interchangeability_(computer_science)) * [Forward compatibility](/source/Forward_compatibility) * [Backward compatibility](/source/Backward_compatibility) * [Cross-platform](/source/Cross-platform) * [Emulator](/source/Emulator) * [Portability](/source/Portability_(software)) * [Plug compatible](/source/Plug_compatible) * [Hardware security](/source/Hardware_security) {{div col end}} ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *[https://www.computerwelt-am-rhein.de/ ComputerWorld Cologne] {{Software engineering}} Category:Interoperability Category:Computer hardware Category:Software --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Computer compatibility](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_compatibility) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_compatibility?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.