Application software: Difference between revisions

In information technology, an '''application''' ('''app'''), an '''application program''', or '''application software''' is a [[computer program]] designed to help people perform an activity. Depending on the activity for which it was designed, an application can manipulate text, numbers, audio, graphics, and a combination of these elements. Some application packages focus on a single task, such as word processing; others called [[integrated software]] include several applications.<ref>Ceruzzi, Paul E. (2000). ''A History of Modern Computing''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. {{ISBN|0-262-03255-4}}.</ref>

 

 

The delineation between system software such as [[operating system]]s and application software is not exact, however, and is occasionally the object of controversy.<ref name=cutter /> For example, one of the key questions in the ''[[United States v. Microsoft Corp. (2001)|United States v. Microsoft Corp.]]'' [[antitrust]] trial was whether Microsoft's [[Internet Explorer]] [[web browser]] was part of its [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] operating system or a separate piece of application software. As another example, the [[GNU/Linux naming controversy]] is, in part, due to disagreement about the relationship between the [[Linux kernel]] and the operating systems built over this [[Kernel (operating system)|kernel]]. In some types of [[embedded system]]s, the application software and the operating system software may be indistinguishable from the user, as in the case of software used to control a [[Videocassette recorder|VCR]], [[DVD]] player, or [[microwave oven]]. The above definitions may exclude some applications that may exist on some computers in large organizations. For an alternative definition of an app: '' see [[Application portfolio management#Definition of an application|Application Portfolio Management]].''