Re: is it "backwards" or "backward" compatible?

["CapDev Communications" <capdev -dot- communications -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I had several students in my technical editing class this summer who were
British-educated. They told me that in UK English, it's towards; in American
English, it's toward.

A cursory review of The Economist Style Guide did not indicate any
difference between American and UK conventions for backward or forward but
confirmed what my students said about towards (UK) and toward (American).

For whatever it's worth . . .

Pat


On 10/15/07, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
>
> I'd go with "backward."  You wouldn't say "forwards
> compatible" to describe the program's capability to
> work with data from newer versions.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Melissa Clark" <melissa -dot- s -dot- clark -at- gmail -dot- com>
> Which is the correct terminology -- "backwards" or
> "backward"
> compatible/compatibility?  For example: The software is
> backward(s?)
> compatible to the previous hardware version ...
>
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-- 
Patricia Egan
P. O. Box 194391
San Francisco, CA 94119-4391
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
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True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
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