Compatibility Mode
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A compatibility mode is a software mechanism in which a software either emulates an older version of software, or mimics another
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...
in order to allow older or incompatible
software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...
or files to remain compatible with the computer's newer hardware or software. Examples of the software using the mode are operating systems and
Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Windows line of operating systems ( ...
.


Operating systems

A compatibility mode in an operating system is a software mechanism in which a computer's
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...
emulates an older
processor Processor may refer to: Computing Hardware * Processor (computing) **Central processing unit (CPU), the hardware within a computer that executes a program *** Microprocessor, a central processing unit contained on a single integrated circuit (I ...
, operating system, and/or hardware platform in order to allow older
software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...
to remain compatible with the computer's newer hardware or software. This differs from a full-fledged
emulator In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use pe ...
in that an emulator typically creates a virtual hardware architecture on the host system, rather than simply translating the older system's function calls into calls that the host system can understand. Examples include Classic Mode in
Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
and compatibility mode in Microsoft Windows, which both allow applications designed for older versions of the operating system to run. Other examples include
Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
to run Windows programs on
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
/ OS X and
Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...
to run .NET programs on various
Unix-like A Unix-like (sometimes referred to as UN*X or *nix) operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, although not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. A Unix-li ...
systems.


Internet Explorer

"Compatibility View" is a compatibility mode feature of the
web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used o ...
Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Windows line of operating systems ( ...
in version 8 and later. When active, Compatibility View forces IE to display the webpage in
Quirks mode In computing, quirks mode is a technique used by some web browsers for the sake of maintaining backward compatibility with web pages designed for old web browsers instead of strictly complying with W3C and IETF standards in standards mode. This b ...
as if the page were being viewed in IE7. When compatibility view is not activated, IE is said to be running in native mode. In IE11, a user can turn on compatibility mode for a web site by clicking the Gears icon and clicking Compatibility View Settings.


IE8+

Internet Explorer 8 Windows Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is a web browser for Windows. It was released by Microsoft on March 19, 2009, as the eighth version of Internet Explorer and the successor to Internet Explorer 7. It was the default browser in Windows 7 (later def ...
was promoted by Microsoft as having stricter adherence to
W3C The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 and led by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations that maintain full-time staff working to ...
described web standards than
Internet Explorer 7 Windows Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) (codenamed Rincon) is a web browser for Windows. It was released by Microsoft on October 18, 2006, as the seventh version of Internet Explorer and the successor to Internet Explorer 6. Internet Explorer 7 is pa ...
. As a result, as in every IE version before it, some percentage of web pages coded to the behavior of the older versions would break in IE8. This would have been a repetition of the situation with IE7 which, while having fixed bugs from IE6, broke pages that used the IE6-specific hacks to work around its non-compliance. This was especially a problem for offline HTML documents, which may not be updatable (e.g. stored on a read-only medium, such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM). To avoid this situation, IE8 implemented a form of version targeting whereby a page could be authored to a specific version of a browser using the X-UA-Compatible declaration either as a
meta element Meta elements are tags used in HTML and XHTML documents to provide structured metadata about a Web page. They are part of a web page's head section. Multiple Meta elements with different attributes can be used on the same page. Meta elements can ...
or in the
HTTP The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide We ...
headers. In order to maintain backwards compatibility, sites can opt into IE7-like handling of content by inserting a specially created
meta element Meta elements are tags used in HTML and XHTML documents to provide structured metadata about a Web page. They are part of a web page's head section. Multiple Meta elements with different attributes can be used on the same page. Meta elements can ...
into the web page that triggers compatibility mode in the browser, using:MSDN "What's New in Internet Explorer 8"
. A newer version of the browser than the page was coded for would emulate the behavior of the older version, so that the assumptions the page made about the browser's behavior hold true. Microsoft proposed that a page with a
doctype #REDIRECT Document type declaration #REDIRECT Document type declaration {{redirect category shell, {{R move{{R from other capitalisation{{R up ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R move{{R from other capitalisation{{R up ...
that triggers standards mode (or almost standards mode) in IE7 would, by default, trigger IE7-like behavior, called "standards mode" (now called "strict mode") in IE8 and future versions of IE. The new features of IE8 are enabled to trigger what Microsoft called the "IE8 standards mode" (now called "standards mode"). Doctypes that trigger
quirks mode In computing, quirks mode is a technique used by some web browsers for the sake of maintaining backward compatibility with web pages designed for old web browsers instead of strictly complying with W3C and IETF standards in standards mode. This b ...
in IE7 will continue to do so in IE8. Peter Bright of Ars Technica claimed that the idea of using a meta tag to pick a specific rendering mode fundamentally misses the point of standards-based development but positioned the issue as one of
idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected t ...
versus
pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...
in web development, noting that not all of the Web is maintained, and that "demanding that web developers update sites to ensure they continue to work properly in any future browser version is probably too much to ask." The result for IE 8 Beta 1 was that it could render three modes: "Quirks," "Strict," and "Standard." When there is an old
DOCTYPE #REDIRECT Document type declaration #REDIRECT Document type declaration {{redirect category shell, {{R move{{R from other capitalisation{{R up ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R move{{R from other capitalisation{{R up ...
or when there is no DOCTYPE, IE renders it like IE5 would (quirks mode). When a special
meta element Meta elements are tags used in HTML and XHTML documents to provide structured metadata about a Web page. They are part of a web page's head section. Multiple Meta elements with different attributes can be used on the same page. Meta elements can ...
or its corresponding
HTTP header The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, w ...
is included in a web page, IE8 will render that page like IE7 would (strict mode). Otherwise, IE8 renders pages with its own engine (standard mode). Users can switch between the three modes with a few clicks. The release of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 revealed that many web sites do not work in this new standards mode. Microsoft maintains a list of websites that have been reported to have problems in IE8's standards mode, known as the compatibility view list. When a user enables this list IE8 will render the websites in the list using its compatibility view mode. The list is occasionally updated to add newly reported problematic websites, as well as to remove websites whose owners have requested removal. The Internet Explorer team also tests the websites on the list for compatibility issues and removes those where none are found.


See also

*
Windows XP Mode Windows Virtual PC (successor to Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, and Connectix Virtual PC) is a Hardware virtualization, virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006, Microsoft released the Windows version f ...
*
Legacy mode In computing, legacy mode is a state in which a computer system, component, or software application behaves in a way that is different from its standard operation in order to support older software, data, or expected behavior. It differs from backw ...
*
Backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especiall ...
*
Quirks mode In computing, quirks mode is a technique used by some web browsers for the sake of maintaining backward compatibility with web pages designed for old web browsers instead of strictly complying with W3C and IETF standards in standards mode. This b ...
*
Program information file A program information file (PIF) defines how a given DOS program should be run in a multi-tasking environment, especially in order to avoid giving it unnecessary resources which could remain available to other programs. TopView was the originator ...
(PIF)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compatibility Mode Internet Explorer Interoperability Windows software MacOS software Linux emulation software