Compatibility layer
interface that allows binaries for a legacy or foreign system to run on a host system. This translates system calls for the foreign system into native system calls for the host system
In software engineering, a compatibility layer is an interface that allows binaries for a legacy or foreign system to run on a host system. This translates system calls for the foreign system into native system calls for the host system. With some libraries for the foreign system, this will often be sufficient to run foreign binaries on the host system. A hardware compatibility layer consists of tools that allow hardware emulation.
Software
Examples include:
Wine, which runs some Microsoft Windows binaries on Unix-like systems using a program loader and the Windows API implemented in DLLs
WoW64, an official Windows compatibility layer and subsystem, allowing 32-bit apps to run on 64-bit versions of Windows
Windows' application compatibility layers to attempt to run poorly written applications or those written for earlier versions of the platform.
KernelEX, which runs some Windows 2000/XP programs on Windows 98/Me, and Windows XP programs on Windows 2000.
Prism is a Microsoft emulator for ARM-powered Windows devices that translates the underlying code of software built for traditional x86 and x64 binaries from Windows 11 24H2
Windows Subsystem for Linux 1, which runs Linux binaries on Windows via a compatibility layer which translates Linux system calls into native windows system calls.
Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 provides a Linux-compatible kernel interface developed by Microsoft.
Lina, which runs some Linux binaries on Windows, Mac OS X and Unix-like systems with native look and feel.
Anbox, an Android compatibility layer for Linux.
“Compatibility layer” enters the record as interface that allows binaries for a legacy or foreign system to run on a host system. This translates system calls for the foreign system into native system calls for the host system. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Compatibility, layer and interface can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Compatibility layer” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Compatibility, layer and interface provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q907342. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2000.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Compatibility layer”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Compatibility layer primary sources, Compatibility layer archive and Compatibility research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Compatibility layer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.