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> But something doesn't have to be backwards compatible to be a "replacement". Yes it does. Especially when it's the size of projects like ffmpeg. Just because

• IshKebab 2y ago
  You are getting very very confused. Let me simplify it for you. 1. It is desirable for replacements to be drop-in replacements. But it isn't a strict requirement. It is possible to replace something with something else even if it requires some work to do that replacement. Cars did replace horses for transport. That is fact. They were not a drop-in replacement. Roads had to be built. People had to learn to drive. The fact that they were not a drop-in replacement for horses does not mean that they were not a replacement. That's simply not what the word "replacement" means in English. 2. You seem to be confusing the size of ffmpeg itself, with the difficulty of replacing it. That's not how programs work. The thing that matters is the size of the interface of the program, which isn't the same as the size of the program itself. For example if you are using ffmpeg on a web server to compress or convert videos to a standard format, you might be running a single ffmpeg command, and replacing it with some other system would literally be a matter of changing the command. It doesn't matter that ffmpeg itself is a huge program. I hope that helps you understand a bit better. Good luck learning about computers - keep at it and you will get there eventually!