Computing platform - Citizendia

In computing, a platform describes some sort of hardware architecture or software framework (including application frameworks), that allows software to run. Computing is usually defined like the activity of using and developing Computer technology Computer hardware and software. In engineering hardware architecture refers to the the identification of a system's physical components and their interrelationships A software framework, in Computer programming, is an abstraction in which common code providing generic functionality can be selectively overridden or specialized by user In Computer programming, an application framework is a Software framework that is used to implement the standard structure of an application for a Typical platforms include a computer's architecture, operating system, programming languages and related runtime libraries or graphical user interface. In Computer engineering, computer architecture is the conceptual design and fundamental operational structure of a Computer system An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination A programming language is an Artificial language that can be used to write programs which control the behavior of a machine particularly a Computer. In Computer science, runtime or run time describes the operation of a Computer program, the duration of its execution from beginning to termination

1 Hardware, operating system and virtual machine
2 Role in software
3 Hardware examples
4 Phone platforms
5 Size of redistributable packages
6 See also

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"). Typical PC hardware A typical Personal computer consists of a case or chassis in a tower shape (desktop and the following parts Motherboard 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. In Computer science, a virtual machine (VM is a Software implementation of a machine (computer that executes programs like a real machine

Role in software

A platform is a crucial element in software development. A platform might be simply defined as 'a place to launch software'. It is an agreement that the platform provider gave to software developer that logic code will interpret consistently as long as the platform is running on top of other platforms. Logic code includes byte code, source code, and machine code. Bytecode is a term which has been used to denote various forms of Instruction sets designed for efficient execution by a software interpreter as well as being suitable In Computer science, source code (commonly just source or code) is any sequence of statements or declarations written in some Human-readable Machine code or machine language is a system of instructions and data executed directly by a Computer 's Central processing unit.

Background

Platforms are frequently mentioned with APIs. A complete suite of APIs constitute another type of platform called software platform. Software Platforms frequently are dependent to operating systems. However this is not always true. For example, two popular non-OS dependent platforms are Java, as mentioned above, and BREW for mobile phones. BREW ( Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) is an application development platform created by Qualcomm for mobile phones.

Java

Main article: Java Platform

Java programs are a typical example of the latter point. Java refers to a number of Computer software products and specifications from Sun Microsystems that together provide a system for developing Application software 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. Bytecode is a term which has been used to denote various forms of Instruction sets designed for efficient execution by a software interpreter as well as being suitable A Java Virtual Machine ( JVM) is a set of computer software programs and data structures which use a Virtual machine In phones, PDAs and other wireless mobile devices, these libraries are the Java ME. In computing the Java Platform Micro Edition or Java ME (still commonly referred to by its previous name Java 2 Platform Micro Edition or J2ME) is a specification 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: .NET Framework

. NET Framework is Microsoft's answer to Sun's Java. Sun Microsystems Inc ( is a multinational vendor of Computers computer components Computer software, and Information technology services 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.
Windows Live ID (formerly known as . Windows Live ID (originally Microsoft Passport, then.NET Passport, then briefly Microsoft Passport Network) is a Single sign-on service developed NET Passport)

Operating system platform examples

Microsoft Windows
Linux
Mac OS backward compatibility via Rosetta
WINE platform to behave like Microsoft Windows

Software platform examples

Java - JDK and JRE
.NET Framework - operating system dependence (MS Windows)
Mozilla Prism XUL and XUL Runner
Adobe AIR

Hardware examples

Supercomputer architectures. Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of Graphical user interface -based Operating systems developed by Apple Inc Rosetta is a lightweight dynamic translator for Mac OS X distributed by Apple. Wine is a free Software application which aims to allow Unix-like computer Operating systems on the X86 architecture to execute Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Prism, previously known as WebRunner, is a product in development which integrates Web applications with the desktop, allowing web applications to be launched Adobe AIR is a Cross-platform Runtime environment for building A supercomputer is a Computer that is at the frontline of processing capacity particularly speed of calculation (at the time of its introduction
RISC processor based machines running UNIX variants:
- Sun computers running the Solaris operating system. Sun Microsystems Inc ( is a multinational vendor of Computers computer components Computer software, and Information technology services Solaris is a Unix -based Operating system introduced by Sun Microsystems in 1992 as the successor to SunOS.
- DEC Alpha cluster running under OpenVMS. Alpha, originally known as Alpha AXP, was a 64-bit Reduced instruction set computer (RISC Instruction set architecture (ISA developed Open Virtual Memory System ( OpenVMS) initially known just as Virtual Memory System ( VMS) is the name of a High-end Computer server
Macintosh, custom Apple Computer hardware and Mac OS operating system (now migrated on x86). Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of Graphical user interface -based Operating systems developed by Apple Inc
Commodity computer platforms, such as:
- Wintel, that is, Intel x86 or compatible hardware and Windows operating system. Commodity computing is computing done on commodity computers as opposed to supermicrocomputers or boutique computers Wintel (Now often referred to as "PC" is a term used to describe desktop Computers and servers of the type commonly used in homes and businesses since See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a Technology. Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft.
- Lintel, that is, Intel x86 or compatible hardware and the Linux operating system. See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a Technology. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks
- x86 with other Unix-like systems such as BSD variants. See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal A Unix-like (sometimes shortened to *nix) Operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system while not necessarily conforming
Gumstix full function miniature computers with Linux. Gumstix is a US-based technology company that designs builds and sells full-function miniature computers and related products Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks
A mainframe computer with its custom operating system, say an IBM z/OS. Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as Big Iron) are Computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications typically bulk data International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology z/OS is a 64-bit Operating system for Mainframe computers, created by IBM.
A midrange computer with its custom operating system, say an IBM OS/400. Midrange computers, or midrange systems, are a class of Computer systems which fall in between Mainframe computers and Microcomputers The range IBM i is an Operating system used on IBM Power Systems, a unified server platform from the former IBM System i and IBM System p servers
ARM architecture found in mobile devices. The ARM architecture (previously the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture
Any variety of video game console.

Phone platforms

Symbian

Linux

Run time

Others

Size of redistributable packages

Platform	Version	OS	Size
.NET	1. Symbian OS is an open Operating system, designed for Mobile devices with associated libraries, User interface frameworks and UIQ (formerly known as User Interface Quartz by UIQ Technology is a Software platform based upon Symbian OS. The S60 Platform (formerly Series 60 User Interface is a software platform for Mobile phones that runs on Symbian OS. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Android is a software platform and Operating system for Mobile devices based on the Linux Kernel, developed by Google JavaFX Mobile is a Java operating system for mobile devices initially developed by SavaJe Technologies and purchased by Sun Microsystems in April 2007 In computing the Java Platform Micro Edition or Java ME (still commonly referred to by its previous name Java 2 Platform Micro Edition or J2ME) is a specification This article is about the free and open-source software media project Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) is an embedded Operating system initially developed by U BREW ( Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) is an application development platform created by Qualcomm for mobile phones. Windows Mobile is a compact Operating system combined with a suite of basic applications for Mobile devices based on the Microsoft Win32 1	Windows(x86)	23. Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. 2MB
. NET	2. 0	Windows(x86)	22. 4MB
. NET	3. 0	Windows(x86)	50. 3MB
. NET	3. 5	Windows(x86)	197MB
Microsoft Silverlight	1. Microsoft Silverlight is a programmable Web browser Plugin that enables features such as Animation, Vector graphics and 0	Windows(x86)	1. 4MB
Microsoft Silverlight	2 beta 1	Windows(x86)	4. 4MB
Java(JRE)	1. A Java Virtual Machine ( JVM) is a set of computer software programs and data structures which use a Virtual machine 1. 8_010	Windows(x86)	5. 2MB
Java	1. 2. 2_017	Windows(x86)	7. 2MB
Java	1. 3. 1_20	Windows(x86)	7. 9MB
Java	1. 4. 2_17	Windows(x86)	15. 1MB
Java	5 update 15	Windows(x86)	16. 1MB
Java	6 update 6	Windows(x86)	15. 2MB
Adobe Air	1. Adobe AIR is a Cross-platform Runtime environment for building 0. 1	Windows(x86)	11. 3MB
Adobe Flash	9. Adobe Flash (previously called Shockwave Flash and Macromedia Flash) is a set of Multimedia software created by Macromedia and currently 0. 124. 0	Windows(x86)	1. 4MB
XULRunner	1. XULRunner is a Runtime environment developed by the Mozilla Foundation for providing a common back-end for XUL applications 8. 1. 3	Windows(x86)	6. 3MB(zip), 4. 5MB(7z)

Contents