interoperable

Definition

The tech industry's aspirational promise that different systems and devices can actually talk to each other and exchange data without throwing tantrums. It's the difference between your smart home working seamlessly versus needing seventeen different apps to control your lights. Standards committees spend decades arguing about achieving interoperability, while consumers just want their printer to work with their computer—apparently an impossible dream.

Example Usage

The new API was designed to be interoperable with legacy systems, though integration still required six months of troubleshooting.

Source: Technology and systems terminology

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