Software incompatibility is a characteristic of software components or systems which cannot operate satisfactorily together on the same computer, or on different computers linked by a computer network. They may be components or systems which are intended to operate cooperatively or independently. Software compatibility is a characteristic of software components or systems which can operate satisfactorily together on the same computer, or on different computers linked by a computer network. It is possible that some software components or systems may be compatible in one environment and incompatible in another. In othe words: Software incompatibility is a characteristic of software components or systems which cannot operate satisfactorily together on the same computer, or on different computers linked by a computer network. They may be components or systems which are intended to operate cooperatively or independently. Software compatibility is a characteristic of software components or systems which can operate satisfactorily together on the same computer, or on different computers linked by a computer network. It is possible that some software components or systems may be compatible in one environment and incompatible in another.