applications.programs,softwares (whats the difference?)

Tea_J

I've heard people use terms like softwares, applications, programs, system, etc..

Sometimes one will make a program and call it an application... or a software... or a program.. i've not really cared about the correct terminology for certain occasions since these terms seems to be "loose" and understood..

EG
I created a guestbook ni PHP.. i can say:

I created a guestbook application
I created a guestbook program
I created a guestbook software
I created a guestbook system

ARe all these correct? If not DEFINITIVELY CORRECT, are these terms "Acceptable"

Just wana broaden my knowledge on the BASICS. 🙂

Tea

drawmack

Any program is software. Software simply means it is computer code that executes on hardware.

Yes it is a program. Since any software is also a program.

You could call it an application. As it is the applied solution to the problem how do I let people sign a guestbook.

I would say it is probably not a system as a system generally referres to a suite of programs (or one very large one) that solves a very complex problem. For example the suite of programs that the accounting department uses is probably an accounting system.

BuzzLY

In the case of your four statements, I'd say they are all almost identical. However, generically speaking, I think you can actually distiguish between all of them.

Some of the definitions from this discussion come from the FOLDOC, or Free Online Dictionary of Computing.

Software is generally considered to be code that is executed by a computer, as opposed to the physical device the code is on (hardware). It usually denotes code that is stored on a device such as a floppy disk, CD, or hard drive, and is loaded into memory in order to run. Software stored on non-volatile storage built from integrated circuits (e.g. ROM or PROM) are usually called firmware.

An application, at least in terms of computers, is usually a software program that is used to perform a task outside the normal scope of the hardware. For example, a spreadsheet application. Software that is an integral part of the hardware, such as your computer's video or sound drivers, are considered system software

A program is usually an individual set of coding instructions, designed to perform a specific task. It can be as simple as one line of code that prints "Hello World" on your screen, or it can be 10,000 lines of code that translate Sanskrit.

A system is just as drawmack described -- it is usually a collection of programs designed to perform a wide variety of tasks. For example, an Operating System is a large set of instructions that tells your computer's hardware how to communicate with each other in a particular way.

As I mentioned, many of these terms can be used interchangeably. However, it's usually "one way." In other words, a system is usually software, but software is not always a system. An application can be a program, but it's usually a collection of many programs -- a program is not always an entire application.

Think of each term as more of an adjective. If one can be used to further clarify another, then they are not completely interchangeable. For example:

Software program (as opposed to a firmware program)
Software application (a collection of software programs)
Software system (a collection of software applications)

Hope that helps clarify things a bit. Check out the FOLDOC when you get a chance. There is a lot of good information there.

Tea_J

ahhh... the sweet taste of enlightenment.. 🙂

Umm. one of the things i missed is "script".

Coz i saw in a post somwhere where this guy was saying he had this

"PHP program" he created..

and then there was this guy who butted in and said

"it's not a program.. it's a script.. PHP is not a programming language, it's a scripting language.."

hmmm.... any truth to that statement? I admin, i was a bit pissed coz it's like he belittled PHP (since he's a Visual B guy).. however, i'd like to know the truth..

Tea

Weedpacket

Originally posted by Tea_J
"it's not a program.. it's a script.. PHP is not a programming language, it's a scripting language.."

hmmm.... any truth to that statement?

Nah, it's spurious.
It's a distinction made by John Osterhout (cf. script) and I'd agree with those who call it a fallacy: it's just not a big enough deal to discriminate over. Usually the only people who do are those who believe that their language is a programming language and that yours is just a scripting language. (Of course, the opposite camp think Osterhout's dichotomy is pretty arbitrary.)

belayet

hi Tea,
It was nice to hear that you love Php.
The answer of your question might be:
web application.

It is not a system,cause it is never dealing with any system.

It is not a software. cause it is only working with web.

Weedpacket

Originally posted by belayet
It is not a software. cause it is only working with web.

The entire Web is a software entity.

Ditto books, movies, and music (not "chunks of dead tree", "long strips of plastic" or "polycarbonate discs", but Titus Groan, Metropolis and "Savoy Truffle").

piersk

Ok, kinda following on from this discussion...

I was asked the other day what the difference between a web app and aweb site is.

Anyone care to answer?

Elizabeth

In my opinion, a web app actually does something (e.g. has some interaction with the user) and a web site can be static or dynamic, but is but a collection of web pages.

piersk

(Just being picky here) But surely a web app can be termed a web site since it is made up of a load of web pages...

Elizabeth

No, I agree- a web app can be considered a web site, but a web site isn't necessarily a web app.

mtimdog

PHP is more than a scripting language...look at Priadoblender. Using this and php gtk, one can make executable applications like vb.

Tea_J

@ mtimdog

it's nice to know that with PriadoBlender, PHP can be like VB.. But can PHP as itself be considered a programing language? Well, most of the answers is yes.. and i think weedpacket is correct.. there's an ignorable difference.

@ piersk

A website is something like a collection of information.. it can be equipped with "WEB APPS" that would provide interactivity and data collection/manipulation..

So yes, a collection of webapps can be considered a website.. but a website is not a webapp so long as it does nothing functional like a piece of software/program/application would do.. wink lolz

Tea