1. A system for providing forward compatibility, said system comprising: a network interface configured to transfer data between a host system and a network; and a programmable circuit module associated with said network interface, said programmable circuit module configured to provide compatibility between said network interface and a driver module associated with said host system, wherein said driver module comprises a first set of capabilities and said network interface comprises a second set of capabilities and said first set of capabilities is a strict subset of said second set of capabilities.