Java compatibility? (was Re: Not a bash, just the facts)

[Daniel Carrera]

Matthew R. Dempsky wrote:
>>The viability of Java depends 100% on the expectation that any JRE will 
>>have a certain set of features that will work in certain ways.
> 
> The last programming competition I went to, I remember there being 
> *four* versions of Java available.  Seems really ironic for a language 
> with compatibility as a core goal.

Where they compatible? Could a program written for one version run on a 
later version? Were versions from different vendors compatible?

Cheers,
Daniel.
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