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Information about Platform (computing)

In computing, a platform describes some sort of framework, either in hardware or software, which allows software to run. Typical platforms include a computer's architecture, operating system, or programming languages and their runtime libraries.

Hardware, operating system and virtual machine

In relation to hardware, platform often describes the set of hardware components that make up the computer itself, that the software is written to target (often just described as "written for an architecture"). Pure assembly language can be run on this hardware platform, but most commonly, operating system software is written to target it. But in doing so, it becomes a platform in itself, facilitating the running of other software that is used to target the operating system, and likewise the hardware architecture. Furthermore, software that is written for the operating system can be used to support the running of other software: for example a virtual machine (which targets a certain operating system/hardware) that is used to run other programs that are written for it, which constitutes another platform.

Java

Main article: Java Platform
Java programs are a typical example of the latter point. Java source code is "compiled" to an intermediate-language bytecode which is then interpreted by an interpreter, the JVM, which then interfaces that program with the Java software libraries. In phones, PDAs and other wireless mobile devices, these libraries are the Java ME. Some phones, even without a full fledged OS, enable Java programs such as games to operate. Java and the bytecode are said to be platform independent. But this is because Java is the platform as well as a programming language. Software really cannot operate without a platform or be platform independent. The programming language is referred to here, meaning the programmer need not be concerned about the hardware or operating system platform, nor will the language change with a different platform.

.NET

Main article: Microsoft .NET
.NET is Microsoft's answer to Sun's Java. Microsoft .NET is an umbrella term that applies to a wide collection of products and technologies from Microsoft. Most have in common a dependence on the Microsoft .NET Framework, a component of the Windows operating system.

Microsoft products and components that fall into the .NET category include:
  • The Microsoft .NET Framework, an operating system component required by most .NET products. H.
  • NET Passport

Role in software

A platform is a crucial element in software development. A platform might be simply defined as 'a place to launch software'. Platforms are frequently mentioned with APIs. A complete suite of APIs constitute another type of platform. Platforms frequently are referred to as operating systems as defined above. However they are not always the same thing. For example, two other popular non-OS platforms are Java, as mentioned above, and BREW for mobile phones.

Hardware examples

Phone platforms

See also

computing is synonymous with counting and calculating. Originally, people that performed these functions were known as computers. Today it refers to a science and technology that deals with the computation and the manipulation of symbols.
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A framework is a basic conceptual structure used to solve a complex issue. This very broad definition has allowed the term to be used as a buzzword, especially in a software context.
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Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with software and data, which are "soft" in the
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A software framework is a reusable design for a software system (or subsystem). This is expressed as a set of abstract classes and the way their instances collaborate for a specific type of software.[1][2] Software frameworks can be object-oriented designs.
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computer architecture is the conceptual design and fundamental operational structure of a computer system. It is a blueprint and functional description of requirements (especially speeds and interconnections) and design implementations for the various parts of a computer —
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An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer. An operating system processes system data and user input, and responds by allocating and managing tasks and internal system resources as a service to users and programs of the
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A programming language is an artificial language that can be used to control the behavior of a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages, like natural languagess, are defined by syntactic and semantic rules which describe their structure and meaning respectively.
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In computer science, runtime or run time describes the operation of a computer program, the duration of its execution, from beginning to termination (compare compile time).
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Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with software and data, which are "soft" in the
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''Virtual Machine Manager redirects here. For the virtual machine monitoring application from Microsoft, see System Center Virtual Machine Manager
In computer science, a virtual machine
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Java

Paradigm: Object-oriented, structured, imperative
Appeared in: 1995
Designed by: Sun Microsystems
Typing discipline: Static, strong, safe, nominative
Major implementations: Numerous
Influenced by: Objective-C, C++, Smalltalk, Eiffel,[1]
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Bytecode is a binary representation of an executable program designed to be executed by a virtual machine rather than by dedicated hardware. Since it is processed by software, it is usually more abstract than machine code.
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A Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is a set of computer software programs and data structures which implements a specific virtual machine model. This model accepts a form of computer intermediate language, commonly referred to as Java bytecode, which conceptually represents the
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Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are handheld computers, but have become much more versatile over the years. PDAs are also known as pocket computers or palmtop computers.
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In computing, the Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME (previously known as Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition or J2ME) is a specification of a subset of the Java platform aimed at providing a certified collection of Java APIs for the development of software for
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.NET Framework is a software component that can be added to or is included with Microsoft Windows operating system. It provides a large body of pre-coded solutions to common program requirements, and manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. The .
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.NET Framework is a software component that can be added to or is included with Microsoft Windows operating system. It provides a large body of pre-coded solutions to common program requirements, and manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. The .
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Sun Microsystems

Public (NASDAQ:  JAVA )
Founded 1982
Headquarters Santa Clara, California, United States

Key people Scott McNealy, Chairman
Jonathan I.
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An application programming interface (API) is a source code interface that an operating system or library provides to support requests for services to be made of it by computer programs.
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An application programming interface (API) is a source code interface that an operating system or library provides to support requests for services to be made of it by computer programs.
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Java

Paradigm: Object-oriented, structured, imperative
Appeared in: 1995
Designed by: Sun Microsystems
Typing discipline: Static, strong, safe, nominative
Major implementations: Numerous
Influenced by: Objective-C, C++, Smalltalk, Eiffel,[1]
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General

Brew may refer to:
  • Brewing, the production of beverages and fuels through fermentation
  • Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, a development platform for mobile phones
  • Brew (horse), a Melbourne Cup winner in 2000
  • BREW, Inc.

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For other uses, see Supercomputer (disambiguation).
A supercomputer is a computer that led the world (or was close to doing so) in terms of processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation, at the time of its introduction.
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Cluster Computing: the Journal of Networks, Software Tools and Applications is a journal for parallel processing, distributed computing systems, and computer communication networks.
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OpenVMS[1] (Open Virtual Memory System or just VMS) is the name of a high-end computer server operating system that runs on the VAX[2] and Alpha[3]
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reduced instruction set computer (RISC, pronounced like "risk") is a CPU design philosophy that favors an instruction set reduced both in size and complexity of addressing modes, in order to enable easier implementation, greater instruction level parallelism, and
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Macintosh, commonly known as Mac, is a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. Named after the McIntosh variety of apple, the original Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984.
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Apple Inc.

Public (NASDAQ:  AAPL , LSE:  ACP , FWB: APC )
Founded California (April 1 1976, as Apple Computer, Inc.)
Headquarters 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California

Key people Steve Jobs, CEO & Co-founder
Steve Wozniak, Co-founder
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This article relates to both the original "Classic" Mac OS as well as Mac OS X, Apple's more recent operating system. See the Mac OS X article for information directly relating to this current Macintosh operating system.

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Commodity computing is computing done on commodity computers as opposed to supermicrocomputers or boutique computers. Commodity computers are computer systems manufactured by multiple vendors, incorporated components based on open standards.
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