Computing platform

A computing platform is some sort of hardware architecture and software framework (including application frameworks) that allows software to run. Typical platforms include a computer's architecture, operating system, programming languages and related user interface (run-time system libraries or graphical user interface).

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 the software developer that logic code will interpret consistently as long as the platform is running on top of other platforms. Logic code includes bytecode, source code, and machine code. It actually means execution of the program is not restricted by the type of operating system provided. It has mostly replaced the machine independent languages.

Contents 1 Operating system examples 1.1 Mobile 1.2 Software framework examples 1.2.1 Mobile 1.2.2 .NET 1.2.3 Java 2 Hardware examples 3 See also

Operating system examples

• AmigaOS, AmigaOS 4
• FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD
• Linux
• Mac OS X
• Microsoft Windows
• OS/2
• Solaris
• IBM VM/370, VM/BSEP, VM/SEP, VM/XA, VM/ESA, z/VM
• Google Chrome OS

Mobile

• Android
• Bada
• BlackBerry OS
• iOS
• Embedded Linux
• Palm OS
• Symbian
• Windows Mobile

Software framework examples

• Adobe AIR
• Java, JDK and JRE
• Mono
• Mozilla Prism XUL and XULRunner
• .NET Framework
• Oracle Database
• Steam
• uniPaaS
• Vexi

Mobile

• APOXI
• Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW)
• Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME)
• JavaFX Mobile
• Qt
• Smartface Platform

.NET

NET is an umbrella term that applies to a wide set of products and technologies from Microsoft. Most have in common a dependence on the Microsoft .NET Framework, and the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI).

Java

The Java platform runs programs written in the Java language. Java source code is "compiled" to an intermediate-language bytecode which is then interpreted by an interpreter, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which then interfaces that program with the Java software libraries. In phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other wireless mobile devices, these libraries are the Java ME. Some phones, even without a full operating system, 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.

Hardware examples

These are ordered roughly, from more common types, to less common types.

• Commodity computing platforms
  • Wintel, that is, Intel x86 or compatible hardware with Windows operating system
  • ARM architecture used in mobile devices
    • Gumstix full function miniature computers with Linux
  • x86 with other Unix-like systems such as BSD variants
  • CP/M computers based on the S-100 bus, maybe the earliest microcomputer platform
• Video game consoles, any variety
• Macintosh, custom Apple Computer hardware and Mac OS operating system, now migrated to x86
  • Newton devices running the Newton OS, also from Apple
• RISC processor based machines running Unix variants
  • SPARC architecture computers running Solaris operating systems
  • DEC Alpha cluster running OpenVMS
• Midrange computers with their custom operating systems, such as IBM OS/400
• Mainframe computers with their custom operating systems, such as IBM z/OS
• Supercomputer architectures

See also

• Application programming interface
• Optimization (Infrastructure & Application Platform)
• Compatibility layer
• Just-in-time compilation

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