<s>
An	O
application	O
program	O
(	O
software	O
application	O
,	O
or	O
application	O
,	O
or	O
app	O
for	O
short	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
designed	O
to	O
carry	O
out	O
a	O
specific	O
task	O
other	O
than	O
one	O
relating	O
to	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
itself	O
,	O
typically	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
end-users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
media	O
players	O
,	O
and	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
are	O
examples	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
other	O
principal	O
classifications	O
of	O
software	O
are	O
system	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
relating	O
to	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
,	O
and	O
utility	B-Application
software	I-Application
(	O
"	O
utilities	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
may	O
be	O
bundled	O
with	O
the	O
computer	O
and	O
its	O
system	B-Application
software	I-Application
or	O
published	O
separately	O
and	O
may	O
be	O
coded	O
as	O
proprietary	B-Application
,	O
open-source	B-Application
,	O
or	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
app	O
"	O
usually	O
refers	O
to	O
applications	B-Application
for	I-Application
mobile	I-Application
devices	I-Application
such	O
as	O
phones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
information	O
technology	O
,	O
an	O
application	O
(	O
app	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
application	O
program	O
,	O
or	O
application	O
software	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
designed	O
to	O
help	O
people	O
perform	O
an	O
activity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
application	O
packages	O
focus	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
task	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
word	O
processing	O
;	O
others	O
called	O
integrated	B-Application
software	I-Application
include	O
several	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
User-written	O
software	O
includes	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
templates	O
,	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
macros	O
,	O
scientific	O
simulations	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
animation	O
scripts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
delineation	O
between	O
system	B-Application
software	I-Application
such	O
as	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
application	O
software	O
is	O
not	O
exact	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
occasionally	O
the	O
object	O
of	O
controversy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
key	O
questions	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
v	O
.	O
Microsoft	O
Corp	O
.	O
antitrust	O
trial	O
was	O
whether	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
was	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
or	O
a	O
separable	O
piece	O
of	O
application	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
another	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
GNU/Linux	B-Application
naming	I-Application
controversy	I-Application
is	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
disagreement	O
about	O
the	O
relationship	O
between	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
built	O
over	O
this	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
types	O
of	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
,	O
the	O
application	O
software	O
and	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
software	O
may	O
be	O
indistinguishable	O
from	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
software	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
a	O
VCR	O
,	O
DVD	O
player	O
,	O
or	O
microwave	O
oven	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
concepts	O
such	O
as	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
API	B-Application
)	O
,	O
application	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
application	B-Operating_System
virtualization	I-Operating_System
,	O
application	O
lifecycle	O
management	O
and	O
portable	B-Application
application	I-Application
apply	O
to	O
all	O
computer	B-Application
programs	I-Application
alike	O
,	O
not	O
just	O
application	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
applications	O
are	O
available	O
in	O
versions	O
for	O
several	O
different	O
platforms	B-Device
;	O
others	O
only	O
work	O
on	O
one	O
and	O
are	O
thus	O
called	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
geography	B-Application
application	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
or	O
an	O
Android	B-Application
application	I-Application
for	O
education	B-Application
,	O
or	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
game	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sometimes	O
a	O
new	O
and	O
popular	O
application	O
arises	O
that	O
only	O
runs	O
on	O
one	O
platform	B-Device
,	O
increasing	O
the	O
desirability	O
of	O
that	O
platform	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
VisiCalc	B-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
modern	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Apple	O
II	O
and	O
helped	O
sell	O
the	O
then-new	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
into	O
offices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
the	O
shortened	O
term	O
"	O
app	O
"	O
(	O
coined	O
in	O
1981	O
or	O
earlier	O
)	O
has	O
become	O
popular	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
applications	B-Application
for	I-Application
mobile	I-Application
devices	I-Application
such	O
as	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
tablets	B-Device
,	O
the	O
shortened	O
form	O
matching	O
their	O
typically	O
smaller	O
scope	O
compared	O
to	O
applications	O
on	O
PCs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
the	O
legal	O
point	O
of	O
view	O
,	O
application	O
software	O
is	O
mainly	O
classified	O
with	O
a	O
black-box	B-Device
approach	I-Device
,	O
about	O
the	O
rights	O
of	O
its	O
end-users	O
or	O
subscribers	O
(	O
with	O
eventual	O
intermediate	O
and	O
tiered	O
subscription	O
levels	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Application	O
software	O
is	O
usually	O
distinguished	O
into	O
two	O
main	O
classes	O
:	O
closed	B-Application
source	I-Application
vs	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
software	I-Application
applications	O
,	O
and	O
free	B-Application
or	O
proprietary	B-Application
software	I-Application
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proprietary	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
placed	O
under	O
the	O
exclusive	O
copyright	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
software	B-License
license	I-License
grants	O
limited	O
usage	O
rights	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
applications	O
can	O
only	O
get	O
add-on	B-Application
by	O
third	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
software	I-License
shall	O
be	O
run	O
,	O
distributed	O
,	O
sold	O
,	O
or	O
extended	O
for	O
any	O
purpose	O
,	O
and	O
-being	O
open	O
-	O
shall	O
be	O
modified	O
or	O
reversed	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FOSS	B-License
software	O
applications	O
released	O
under	O
a	O
free	B-License
license	I-License
may	O
be	O
perpetual	O
and	O
also	O
royalty-free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Public-domain	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
FOSS	B-License
,	O
which	O
is	O
royalty-free	O
and	O
-	O
openly	O
or	O
reservedly	O
-	O
can	O
be	O
run	O
,	O
distributed	O
,	O
modified	O
,	O
reversed	O
,	O
republished	O
,	O
or	O
created	O
in	O
derivative	O
works	O
without	O
any	O
copyright	O
attribution	O
and	O
therefore	O
revocation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
development	O
and	O
near-universal	O
adoption	O
of	O
the	O
web	O
,	O
an	O
important	O
distinction	O
that	O
has	O
emerged	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
between	O
web	B-Application
applications	I-Application
written	O
with	O
HTML	B-Language
,	O
JavaScript	B-Language
and	O
other	O
web-native	O
technologies	O
and	O
typically	O
requiring	O
one	O
to	O
be	O
online	O
and	O
running	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
and	O
the	O
more	O
traditional	O
native	O
applications	O
written	O
in	O
whatever	O
languages	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
one	O
's	O
particular	O
type	B-Device
of	I-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
contentious	O
debate	O
in	O
the	O
computing	O
community	O
regarding	O
web	B-Application
applications	I-Application
replacing	O
native	O
applications	O
for	O
many	O
purposes	O
,	O
especially	O
on	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
such	O
as	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
tablets	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	B-Application
apps	I-Application
have	O
indeed	O
greatly	O
increased	O
in	O
popularity	O
for	O
some	O
uses	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
advantages	O
of	O
applications	O
make	O
them	O
unlikely	O
to	O
disappear	O
soon	O
,	O
if	O
ever	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Application	O
software	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
being	O
either	O
horizontal	B-Application
or	O
vertical	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Horizontal	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
more	O
popular	O
and	O
widespread	O
,	O
because	O
they	O
are	O
general	O
purpose	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
or	O
databases	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vertical	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
niche	O
products	O
,	O
designed	O
for	O
a	O
particular	O
type	O
of	O
industry	O
or	O
business	O
,	O
or	O
department	O
within	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
application	B-Application
suite	I-Application
consists	O
of	O
multiple	O
applications	O
bundled	O
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
often	O
come	O
in	O
suites	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Office	I-Application
,	O
LibreOffice	B-Application
and	O
iWork	B-Application
,	O
which	O
bundle	O
together	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enterprise	B-Application
software	I-Application
addresses	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
an	O
entire	O
organization	O
's	O
processes	O
and	O
data	O
flows	O
,	O
across	O
several	O
departments	O
,	O
often	O
in	O
a	O
large	O
distributed	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
include	O
enterprise	O
resource	O
planning	O
systems	O
,	O
customer	O
relationship	O
management	O
(	O
CRM	O
)	O
systems	O
,	O
data	B-Architecture
replication	I-Architecture
engines	O
,	O
and	O
supply	O
chain	O
management	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Departmental	O
Software	O
is	O
a	O
sub-type	O
of	O
enterprise	B-Application
software	I-Application
with	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
smaller	O
organizations	O
or	O
groups	O
within	O
a	O
large	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enterprise	O
infrastructure	O
software	O
provides	O
common	O
capabilities	O
needed	O
to	O
support	O
enterprise	B-Application
software	I-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Examples	O
include	O
databases	B-Application
,	O
email	O
servers	O
,	O
and	O
systems	O
for	O
managing	O
networks	O
and	O
security	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Application	B-Application
platform	I-Application
as	I-Application
a	I-Application
service	I-Application
(	O
aPaaS	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
service	O
that	O
offers	O
development	O
and	O
deployment	O
environments	O
for	O
application	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
include	O
time	B-Application
management	I-Application
,	O
resource	O
management	O
,	O
analytical	O
,	O
collaborative	O
and	O
documentation	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
spreadsheets	B-Application
,	O
email	O
and	O
blog	O
clients	O
,	O
personal	O
information	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
individual	O
media	O
editors	O
may	O
aid	O
in	O
multiple	O
information	O
worker	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Examples	O
include	O
media	O
players	O
,	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
,	O
and	O
help	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
related	O
to	O
content	O
access	O
software	O
,	O
but	O
has	O
the	O
content	O
or	O
features	O
adapted	O
for	O
use	O
by	O
educators	O
or	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simulation	B-Application
software	I-Application
simulates	O
physical	O
or	O
abstract	O
systems	O
for	O
either	O
research	O
,	O
training	O
,	O
or	O
entertainment	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
graphic-art	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
desktop	O
publishing	O
software	O
,	O
multimedia	O
development	O
software	O
,	O
HTML	B-General_Concept
editors	I-General_Concept
,	O
digital-animation	O
editors	O
,	O
digital	O
audio	O
and	O
video	O
composition	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
computer-aided	B-Application
design	I-Application
(	O
CAD	B-Application
)	O
,	O
computer-aided	O
engineering	O
(	O
CAE	O
)	O
,	O
computer	O
language	O
editing	O
and	O
compiling	B-Language
tools	I-Language
,	O
integrated	B-Application
development	I-Application
environments	I-Application
,	O
and	O
application	O
programmer	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Entertainment	O
Software	O
can	O
refer	O
to	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
screen	B-General_Concept
savers	I-General_Concept
,	O
programs	O
to	O
display	O
motion	O
pictures	O
or	O
play	O
recorded	O
music	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
forms	O
of	O
entertainment	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
experienced	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
computing	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
classified	O
by	O
computing	B-Device
platforms	I-Device
such	O
as	O
a	O
desktop	O
application	O
for	O
a	O
particular	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
delivery	O
network	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
and	O
Web	O
2.0	O
applications	O
,	O
or	O
delivery	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
for	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
itself	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
application	O
software	O
when	O
performing	O
simple	O
calculating	O
,	O
measuring	O
,	O
rendering	O
,	O
and	O
word	O
processing	O
tasks	O
not	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
hardware	O
via	O
a	O
command-line	B-Application
interface	I-Application
or	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
does	O
not	O
include	O
application	O
software	O
bundled	O
within	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
a	O
software	O
calculator	O
or	O
text	B-Application
editor	I-Application
.	O
</s>
