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
- Is Nvidia planning to add X86 compatibility to its chipsets?
- I hope soNVIDIA with x86-64 technology would be Next Big ThingTM, although I'd rather see a new architecture replace the aging x86. 64-bit is just a tack-on feature set of x86. I'd rather see something in line with IA64 from NVIDIA to shake up Intel. I'm sure...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-05
- Xobni expands to include enterprise but where are Web, Mobile and even Mac versions
- Search tools more than important!!!Good that mostly everbody knows that in business life nothing works without e-mail and even that important is a reliable and fast search tool for Outlook! One of those is Lookeen It has so many features which lighten your work that is amazing. It works with...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-04
- News to know: AT&T, Verizon; T-Mobile; Microsoft CRM; Win7; datacenters; Sony-Ericcson
- Here are today's notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET's around-the-Web tech coverage.: Sam Diaz: AT&T sues Verizon Wireless, calls map ad "misleading" but doesn't dispute accuracy Matthew Miller: T-Mobile experiences...
- Blog posts 2009-11-04
- Power Solutions Article: High-Availability Virtualization with Dell EqualLogic Arrays and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V
- The Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 Release 2 (R2) Hyper-V™ platform introduces capabilities designed to deliver high availability for virtualized data centers. Integrating a Dell™ EqualLogic™ PS Series storage area network into Hyper-V virtualized environments helps organizations capitalize on new Hyper-V capabilities, including live migration, hot-add storage, and storage platform features...
- White papers 2009-11-04
- Moodlerooms announces joule platform at EDUCAUSE
- Moodlerooms announced today that many of the features that users either built themselves or found via third parties for Moodle are integrated into the company's new joule platform. by Christopher Dawson
- Blog posts 2009-11-03
- New Marvell e-book reader platform promises faster product, lower price tag
- Vaguely disappointed.When I read the headline, I thought Batman was coming to an e-book near me.Of course, Batman is DC not Marvel... [nt][nt]Touch?. NTLike the look of that enTourage unitThe dual screen folding idea has a lot of appeal, BUT...I won't buy an ereader until I can use any book...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-03
- New Marvell e-book reader platform promises faster product, lower price tag
- Everyone wants in on the e-book reader market now. Chip manufacturer Marvell announced plans this morning to team up with E Ink, a major supplier of electronic paper display EPD technologies. With the new Marvell ARMADA 166E chip, the companies are aiming to release a model...
- Blog posts 2009-11-03
- Google Wave: Has potential, but let loose too soon
- Open sourceKeep in mind that the code to developers is completely open source. If someone wants to make their own wave software or use the real time HTML 5 support for something else.Besides this is just a preview of the basics. Open to only 100,000 people, you can't expect much....
- Discussion threads 2009-11-03
- DAVE 8.0 (Mac)
- Professional cross-platform file and printer sharing solution. DAVE is the first and only cross-platform networking solution of its kind. DAVE uses the fast, industry standard TCP/IP protocol instead of AppleTalk and is designed specifically for the Apple Macintosh. It is installed on the Macintosh and no additional hardware or software...
- Software downloads 2009-11-03
- Smart.fm - almost enough to make me want an iPhone
- I really don't want an iPhone. I'm holding out for a Droid, just as soon as I figure out some way to justify getting rid of my perfectly adequate BlackBerry. However, the iPhone has lots of apps and one in particular is being unveiled today: Smart.fm's iPhone interface...
- Blog posts 2009-11-02
- Make room for another e-reader as Creative shows off prototype
- Market is ripeFor Chinese factories to crank out more hardware and suck more dollars out of the middle class.Clue in America.Transition product I do believe that e-book readers are largely a transition product which will eventually be made more or less obsolete by advances in netbook/smartbook etc. technologies. Multiple devices...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-02
- Facebook users targeted by Zeus banking Trojan
- Is it safe to assumethat this threat can happen on any OS/Browser desktop or mobile?Yes but...various Stallman cultist and Job cultist will try to argue that either Linux or MacOSX are immune to this because of a so called superior BSD security model or something along this line.Windows only?The Trojan...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-29
- With Motorola Droid, Verizon puts doubts about Google Android platform to rest [review]
- Looks pretty nice, one comment on the article tho...[i]Further, Android 2.0 offers universal search, surfacing Web pages (history, bookmarks, etc.), contacts, applications and more all from the same search field widget. It?s a welcome addition.[/i]This is actually a feature of Android 1.6 and so not exclusive to the Droid or...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-29
- JumpBox for the Movable Type Blogging System 1.1.12 (Mac)
- Movable Type is Six Apart's flagship blog software product, launched in 2001. Today, this robust social publishing platform powers the websites and blogs of many of the world's largest media companies, Fortune 100 businesses, small and medium sized businesses, and power bloggers. Movable Type is a fully integrated, scalable, proven...
- Software downloads 2009-10-29
- Smartphone wars; one platform will never rule them all
- UbuntuThere are enough potential customers out there, and enough open source software available for potential OS builders that you don't really need that much market share to remain vital.Mac OS has only a fraction of the entire computer market and Ubuntu only has a fraction of Mac OS's market share....
- Discussion threads 2009-10-28
- Microsoft partners to allow Eclipse interop on Win7, WinServer 2008 R2, Azure
- Microsoft has made another play at interoperability with a key open source software offering. At Eclipse Summit Europe on Wednesday, the Redmond, Wash. software giant announced that it is working on four open source projects with two open source companies -- Tasktop Technologies and Soyatec -- to...
- Blog posts 2009-10-28
- What's new in Android 2.0? Part 2: Developer features
- Android 2.0 ("Eclair") is an evolutionary version of the Android platform. Despite its version number, it's not as big a change as going from 1.1 to 1.5 ("Cupcake"). However, it does bring a number of notable features to the platform. This article samples the goodies that Google sprinkled on top...
- Blog posts 2009-10-28
- Wireshark 1.2.3 (Mac)
- Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer, and is the standard in many industries. It is the continuation of a project that started in 1998. Hundreds of developers around the world have contributed to it, and it is still under active development. Read/write many different aWireshark is the world's...
- Software downloads 2009-10-28
- New LoroBot ransomware encrypts files, demands $100 for decryption
- You forgot to mention....which OSs it affects! Or is it based on something multi-platform like Java?Look at the bigger size version of the screenshot, it's all in thereA lot of russian characters and...YES, you guessed it right, the word "windows" prominently displayed in red in the title.Who would ever thought...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-27
- Facebook password-reset spam is Bredolab botnet attack
- For haven sake ...Could we be a little bit more specific."...password-reset messages to trick PC users into downloading a dangerous piece of malware."Do "PC" means Windows? I'm guessing because I see the words "PC" and "malware" in the same sentence, oh, and your screen shot is Windows. ...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-27
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
SmartPlanet
- Thought-provoking progressive ideas on diverse topics that intersect with technology, business, and life, and matter to the world at large. Visit SmartPlanet
- More from IBM
-
- Innovate your business' process model, play against the market, compete against others on our scoreboards and WIN! Try INNOV8 2.0: A BPM Simulator
- Enabling Real-World Business Transformation through IBM Service Management Read the EMA Analyst Report
