Editing Source-code compatibility (section)

{{Short description|When a program must be compiled/interpreted before another computer can run it}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
'''Source-code compatibility''' (source-compatible) means that a program can run on [[central processing unit|computers]] (or [[operating system]]s), independently of [[binary-code compatibility]] and that the [[source code]] is needed for [[Software portability|portability]].<ref name="Baron Higbie 1992" />

The source code must be [[compiler|compiled]] before running, unless the computer used has an [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] for the language at hand.<ref name="Data Processing Digest 1980" /> The term is also used for [[assembly language]] compatibility, where the source is a [[human-readable]] form of [[machine code]] that must be converted into numerical (i.e. executable) machine code by an [[Assembly language#Assembler|assembler]]. This is different from [[binary-code compatibility]], where no recompilation (or assembly) is needed.<ref name="Stern Monti Bachmann 1998" />

Source compatibility is a major issue in the developing of computer programs. For example, most [[Unix]] systems are source-compatible, as long as one uses only standard [[library (computing)|libraries]]. [[Microsoft Windows]] systems are source-compatible across one major family (the [[Windows NT]] family, from [[Windows NT 3.1|NT 3.1]] through [[Windows 11]], or the family that includes [[Windows 95]], [[Windows 98]], and [[Windows Me]]), with partial source compatibility between the two families.