Planning for the Future: Compatibility and Expandability

Abstract

Compatibility and interface are two terms used widely in the electronics industry generally—and computers are very much a part of or at least an outgrowth of the electronics industry for they are definitely electronic devices. They are terms closely related to each other, and if you are to buy that “insurance” against your future needs mentioned earlier (expandable systems that resist obsolescence) it is important to understand them thoroughly, at least in general terms. (You do not need to become a physicist or even an engineer to master the basic concepts.)

In an industry not yet highly standardized, compatibility and expandability do not happen automatically or accidentally; they happen only when they are planned that way.