A hardware and/or software architecture that serves as a foundation or base. The term originally dealt with only hardware, and it may still refer to only a CPU model or computer family. For example, the x86 PC is the world's largest hardware platform. IBM's iSeries (AS/400) and Sun's SPARC are also hardware platforms (see hardware platforms for a larger list). The terms "platform" and "environment" are used interchangeably. See environment.
An Operating System Platform
The term often refers to an operating system, and the hardware is generally implied. For example, when an application is said to "run on the Windows platform," it means that the program has been compiled into the x86 machine language and runs under Windows. It implies x86 because Windows runs mostly on x86 PCs.
The Xbox "gaming platform" refers to the Xbox proprietary operating system, but different hardware depending on model (Xbox or Xbox 360). The same goes for the "Palm platform," which ran the Palm OS on Motorola 68000 chips and later on ARM chips.
With Unix, the hardware may not be implied. The phrase "the program runs on the Unix platform" does not indicate which CPU family that particular program was compiled for. Unix programs run on almost every hardware platform, but they have to be compiled into the machine language of the hardware. See Unix.
Software Only - A Two Way Street
Operating systems are always "software platforms" because applications must interface with them. An application can also be a platform if it is a base for other programs. For example, Web browsers accept third-party plug-ins, which are small software components that add functionality. The browser becomes a platform to contain those components. A messaging or groupware platform is a base program that e-mail, calendaring and other client programs communicate with. Software platforms are always a two-way street; they provide the base functionality and communicate back and forth with other software.
A single application that runs in isolation is not a platform. For example, a simple photo editor that does not accept third-party plug-ins cannot be called a platform.
An Operating System Platform
The term often refers to an operating system, and the hardware is generally implied. For example, when an application is said to "run on the Windows platform," it means that the program has been compiled into the x86 machine language and runs under Windows. It implies x86 because Windows runs mostly on x86 PCs.
The Xbox "gaming platform" refers to the Xbox proprietary operating system, but different hardware depending on model (Xbox or Xbox 360). The same goes for the "Palm platform," which ran the Palm OS on Motorola 68000 chips and later on ARM chips.
With Unix, the hardware may not be implied. The phrase "the program runs on the Unix platform" does not indicate which CPU family that particular program was compiled for. Unix programs run on almost every hardware platform, but they have to be compiled into the machine language of the hardware. See Unix.
Software Only - A Two Way Street
Operating systems are always "software platforms" because applications must interface with them. An application can also be a platform if it is a base for other programs. For example, Web browsers accept third-party plug-ins, which are small software components that add functionality. The browser becomes a platform to contain those components. A messaging or groupware platform is a base program that e-mail, calendaring and other client programs communicate with. Software platforms are always a two-way street; they provide the base functionality and communicate back and forth with other software.
A single application that runs in isolation is not a platform. For example, a simple photo editor that does not accept third-party plug-ins cannot be called a platform.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Battle for Wesnoth 1.7.9 (Mac)
- This is a fantasy-focused turn-based strategy game with units carrying over and gaining experience between scenarios. Both single player campaigns and multiplayer games are supported. This game is currently being actively developed, but is already at in a highly playable state. Although cross platform in nature, great effort is being...
- Software downloads 2009-11-28
- Monolith Android 1.0.4 beta (Mobile)
- Monolith Android is a 3D tetris-like game for the android mobile phone platform. The code is based on the SDK samples of the Android SDK. The intent of the author was to create a fun to play game, and familiarize with the rich API of the android platform. The game...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Memo Game for Android 2.0 (Mobile)
- Memo Game for Android is a memory game for the Android platform. Memo Game for Android is an exciting board game, to be played for fun at all times. The application, through a user friendly interface, offers the users the chance to play the well-known Memory game now on the...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- Does Amazon know where it's going with the Kindle?
- Amazon, please ignore AdrianNormally I'm right with Adrian, but he obviously doesn't have a Kindle, which is my favorite device. To Amazon: don't add battery sucking features (like wi-fi), we don't care about multi-purpose (it's a bookreader!), i don't want cr@apps on my Kindle (it's a bookreader!) and I don't...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-25
- Microsoft isn't the only one developing a hardware-accelerated browser
- It is a dumb idea.WAIT! Firefox and Chrome teams are looking to do the same?What a brilliant idea!I smell a large scale patent war brewingThis will be one that catches everybody's attention, not just the people who work in the industry.I'd bet that Office goes hardware-rendered, tooI'd bet that Office...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- Can (and will) Microsoft keep Silverlight compatible across platforms?
- The better question is WHEN will it be better for Microsoft to keep it compatible across platforms, and WHEN or under what conditions might it not be better for MS to NOT keep it compatible across platforms.In other works, it is NOT a question of IF, but, at WHAT TIMES...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- Fawning over Chatter and how SAP missed its chance
- What Salesforce did was pricing, not features...What I was talking about that most people missed wasn't the feature set. Of course that isn't new. Even Benioff pretty much admits he stole the idea from Facebook and Twitter.But at the Techcrunch Real Time Crunchup on Friday Benioff said Salesforce was working...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- LinkedIn's platform debut: Late but important
- LinkedIn has opened its platform so developers can integrate the site into business apps and Web sites. Think Facebook Connect for professionals. by Larry Dignan
- Blog posts 2009-11-23
- New iPhone worm found in the wild
- But I thought Apple OS X was immune from ALL such things. nt...When you jailbreak your iPhoneyou give it the ability to run things other the "Apple Only" software.Any I thought Zdnet was immune to trolling?Just kidding. I knew it wasn't.I don't think that Apple ever claimed their OS...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Google goes all-in with an open source cloud
- RE: Google goes all-in with an open source cloudGoogle is redifing the marketplace each day with calculated innovation to set the table for their advancement and domination in the future. I can't for the fight that is coming with MS Office next year and Google docs.another nail in M$...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Admob: Droid and Android army make big browsing splash
- I don't see how....Palm is going to survive in this market. The iPhone vs Android will be interesting to watch however.Android is still milles away from the iPhoneAfter looking at the few Android phones in the market, I can tell you that without a doubt, the Android is competition for...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-23
- Chatting (Not Chattering) About Salesforce - Part I
- (NOTE BEFORE I START: This is one really long post. So rather than post it in all its glory in a single file or post it here over two days, I'm trying something new. I'm posting the first half here. And the second half on PGreenblog. Â Let's see how that...
- Blog posts 2009-11-23
- Roku becomes cloud-enabled with new Roku Channel Store and Developer SDK
- The new Roku Channel Store, which is being rolled out to all Roku devices, will greatly expand the capabilities of the $99 set-top on-demand streaming device. Late Sunday night, Roku announced that its players would now have a "Channel...
- Blog posts 2009-11-22
- Collectorz.com Game Collector 3.3.1 (Windows)
- Catalog your video games automatically, no typing. Just type title and platform or type/scan its barcode to download all data from our own Collectorz.com Game Database, including title, publisher, developer, platform, genre and the cover image. Browse your collection by genre, publisher, platform or use the Image View to view...
- Software downloads 2009-11-22
- Google makes Chrome OS open source today
- I like itThe ChromeOS demo looked pretty cool!I'm almost 100% webapp-based already, so I could see myself using a simple, fast & no maintenance OS like that the majority of the time.I like it too, but, for me, I need to compile and run programs locally. I would imagine that...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Hands-on with the HTC HD2, most impressive Windows Mobile device to date
- I like what HTC is doingYou've got the Hero and the HD2. I'd like to see what the difference is in performance between the two, but the Hero has a slower processor. Personally, I like the Windows Mobile platform, and it is the best option for Windows-based IT...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- FAA hit with network glitch; Flight plans go manual
- Another glitch with a linux network? Its hard to believe people still use it for anything critical like the FAA and flight tracking. Its a toy OS and should not be used when the lives of people are dependent upon it.Cisco supplies the network backboneIt will be interesting to see...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Terracotta buys Quartz
- Open source Java clustering software developer Terracotta announced its intent to buy an open source job scheduler known as Quartz. The integration of Quartz into Terracotta's platform will ease high availability job scheduling and scaling applications to multiple nodes, the company said. Quartz is currently integrated into...
- Blog posts 2009-11-19
- Do we need a 'beautiful mess' in operating systems? Yup
- To make a good soup, you've got to stir the pot...Ok, sure - it turns cloudy, short-term. Just be sure to filter it or let it settle, before serving.Whereas the classic 'design-by-committee' model so often fails, its always useful to have multiple, talented teams working on similar projects, independently. With...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Microsoft Silverlight 4.0 Beta (Windows)
- Silverlight 4 delivers a full suite of powerful capabilities to business application developers, bringing the best-of-breed .NET platform to browser-based experiences. Silverlight provides an ideal platform for developing and deploying modern business applications for both customer facing and staff-facing applications.
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
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