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Survey Results

How important is backwards compatibility in an Operating System   [Edit]

Survey period: 2 Jun 2008 to 9 Jun 2008

We want new operating systems to be faster, better, stronger and safer, but we want our old apps too. What tradeoff is fair? (Suggested by Bill Shadish)

OptionVotes% 
Critical. Everything that ran on the old OS should run correctly on the new18917.66
Important. Everything should run correctly unless there is a security or other critical issue55351.68
Moderately Important. Most things should work correctly23622.06
Not very important. If old apps run correctly then good for it928.60



 
GeneralRe: CListCtrl's compatibility Pin
The Cake of Deceit6-Jun-08 0:54
The Cake of Deceit6-Jun-08 0:54 
Generalfrom developer's point of view.. [modified] Pin
Nirosh2-Jun-08 1:51
professionalNirosh2-Jun-08 1:51 
General[Message Removed] Pin
Mojtaba Vali2-Jun-08 2:17
Mojtaba Vali2-Jun-08 2:17 
GeneralRe: from developer's point of view.. Pin
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar2-Jun-08 3:56
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar2-Jun-08 3:56 
JokeRe: from developer's point of view.. Pin
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar2-Jun-08 3:53
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar2-Jun-08 3:53 
GeneralRe: from developer's point of view.. Pin
firegryphon2-Jun-08 7:41
firegryphon2-Jun-08 7:41 
GeneralRe: from developer's point of view.. Pin
W Balboos, GHB2-Jun-08 8:04
W Balboos, GHB2-Jun-08 8:04 
GeneralRe: from developer's point of view.. Pin
firegryphon2-Jun-08 10:52
firegryphon2-Jun-08 10:52 
I suppose I'm too much of a systems guy to view it that way. I look for the differences in the problem that make it interesting, and just updating to fix something that some OS guy broke because he thought it was funny isn't my idea of fun. I suppose that is why I pretty much only write analysis code for orbital mechanics and use them to solve interplanetary trajectory problems. Sure the same equations of motion are used everywhere, so once you have a tool written it is easy to solve the same problem over and over again with one set of software, but when you can't figure out how to do something with all the old stuff you go outside the box and try another type of solution. Since my software is only used by a handful of people, it makes everything easier.

Just as a note, I have a coworker who is still using a DOS Lahey Fortran 77 compiler, because he has a library that was released as a compiled version only. If there weren't a compatibility layer to be able to run that ancient 8-bit code, we would be forced to rewrite what is essentially a good and working piece of analysis software. As it is, I write new routines where I can that replace the functionality of that library and compile that into my less outdated Compaq Visual Fortran (F77/F90/F95) compiler. When I'm being generous, I'll even throw together a gooey and maybe even connect it to a DLL (as opposed to just writing out a file and running the console program).

A version of windows that broke compatibility with his ancient toolset would be an immediate deal-breaker.

I have to say that I do still miss the days of old when I wrote pretty programs that were user focused and utilized only state of the art languages / compilers.



GeneralRe: from developer's point of view.. Pin
jdryk.x2-Jun-08 9:06
jdryk.x2-Jun-08 9:06 
GeneralMust be mostly compatible one level down... Pin
AlexCode2-Jun-08 1:08
professionalAlexCode2-Jun-08 1:08 
GeneralPhilosophically Interesting Replies Pin
W Balboos, GHB2-Jun-08 1:01
W Balboos, GHB2-Jun-08 1:01 
GeneralRe: Philosophically Interesting Replies Pin
AlexCode2-Jun-08 1:10
professionalAlexCode2-Jun-08 1:10 
GeneralRe: Philosophically Interesting Replies Pin
jhwurmbach2-Jun-08 4:19
jhwurmbach2-Jun-08 4:19 
GeneralRe: Philosophically Interesting Replies Pin
John M. Drescher4-Jun-08 5:54
John M. Drescher4-Jun-08 5:54 
GeneralUnder the hood is what counts Pin
W Balboos, GHB2-Jun-08 0:47
W Balboos, GHB2-Jun-08 0:47 
GeneralWhy not Virtual Machine Pin
Joe Sonderegger1-Jun-08 20:54
Joe Sonderegger1-Jun-08 20:54 
GeneralRe: Why not Virtual Machine Pin
balazs_hideghety1-Jun-08 21:23
balazs_hideghety1-Jun-08 21:23 
GeneralRe: Why not Virtual Machine Pin
Paul Watson2-Jun-08 0:23
sitebuilderPaul Watson2-Jun-08 0:23 
GeneralRe: Why not Virtual Machine Pin
h322-Jun-08 1:51
h322-Jun-08 1:51 
AnswerRe: Why not Virtual Machine Pin
aurisc42-Jun-08 6:47
aurisc42-Jun-08 6:47 
GeneralXP -> Vista Pin
Reelix1-Jun-08 19:54
Reelix1-Jun-08 19:54 
GeneralRe: XP -> Vista Pin
AlexCode2-Jun-08 1:15
professionalAlexCode2-Jun-08 1:15 
GeneralRe: XP -> Vista Pin
jhwurmbach2-Jun-08 4:21
jhwurmbach2-Jun-08 4:21 
JokeEverything that ran on the old OS should run correctly on the new... unless... Pin
PIEBALDconsult1-Jun-08 19:34
mvePIEBALDconsult1-Jun-08 19:34 
GeneralBackwards Compatibility = Burden, Bloat, BS Pin
Ri Qen-Sin1-Jun-08 19:12
Ri Qen-Sin1-Jun-08 19:12 

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