backward-compatibility-and-standards-compliance.md

title	Backward Compatibility and Standards Compliance | Microsoft Docs
ms.custom
ms.date	01/19/2017
ms.prod	sql
ms.prod_service	connectivity
ms.reviewer
ms.technology	connectivity
ms.topic	conceptual
helpviewer_keywords	backward compatibility [ODBC], standards compliance compatibility [ODBC], standards compliance standards compliance [ODBC]
ms.assetid	b5eee7be-28ed-4467-8cf1-2205e2010a53
author	David-Engel
ms.author	v-daenge

Backward Compatibility and Standards Compliance

Backward compatibility is the ability of newer ODBC components to work with old ODBC components. The following sections discuss how these components are affected by the changes in ODBC 3.x. The information contained in them primarily addresses the writing of an ODBC 3.x application and how backward compatibility issues are handled by ODBC drivers. For specific guidelines about how backward compatibility issues affect the writing of an ODBC 3.x driver, see Appendix G: Driver Guidelines for Backward Compatibility.

This section contains the following topics.

• Affected ODBC Components

• Types of Changes

• Application/Driver Compatibility

• New Features

• Duplicated Features

• Behavioral Changes

• Writing ODBC 3.x Applications

• Writing ODBC 3.x Drivers