Q: What is a backward compatible design?
A: The design is backward compatible, if the design continues to work with earlier versions of a language, program, code, or software.
When the design is backward compatible, the signals or data that had to be changed, did not break the existing code.
For instance, our mythical web designer decides that the fun of using Javascript and Flash is more important than backward compatible design, or, he decides that he doesn't have the resources to maintain multiple styles of backward compatible web design.
This decision of his will inconvenience some users, because some of the earlier versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape will not display his web pages properly, as there are some serious improvements in the newer versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape that make the older versions of these browsers incompatible with, for example, DHTML.
This is when we say, "This design doesn't continue to work with earlier versions of browser software. Therefore our mythical designer's web design is not backward compatible".
On the other hand, if the same mythical web designer decides that backward compatibility is more important than fun, or, if he decides that he has the resources to maintain multiple styles of backward compatible code, then no user will be inconvenienced.
No one will be inconvenienced, even when Microsoft and Netscape make some serious improvements in their web browsers.
This is when we can say, "Our mythical web designer's design is backward compatible".
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