Information Technology (IT) Platform

A Information Technology (IT) Platform is a IT system (based on information technology) that supports the deployment of computing systems.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) provide Software Tools needed to run an application
  • It can provide the Computing Hardware to run a system.
  • It can be based on an IT Framework.
  • It can be guided by a Software Platform Architecture.
  • It can range from being an On-Premise IT Platform to being an Internet-based IT Platform.
  • It can range from being a Centralized Computing Platform to being a Decentralized Computing Platform.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • a Cluster-based Computing Platform, for cluster-based systems.
  • a Numerical Analysis Platform, for numerical analysis systems.
  • a Data Processing Platform, for data processing systems.
  • a Machine Learning Platform, for ML-based systems.
  • an AI Platform, for AI-based systems.
  • a Big Data Platform.
  • a Business Intelligence Platform.
  • an NLP Platform.
  • a Software Engineering Platform.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • an Operating System.
  • a Computer Architecture.
• See: Runtime Library, Central Processor Unit, Embedded System, Web Browser, Big Data Framework.

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References

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computing_platform Retrieved:2023-7-27.
  • A computing platform or digital platform or software platform is an environment in which a piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the operating system (OS), even a web browser and associated application programming interfaces, or other underlying software, as long as the program code is executed with it. Computing platforms have different abstraction levels, including a computer architecture, an OS, or runtime libraries. A computing platform is the stage on which computer programs can run.

    A platform can be seen both as a constraint on the software development process, in that different platforms provide different functionality and restrictions; and as an assistant to the development process, in that they provide low-level functionality ready-made. For example, an OS may be a platform that abstracts the underlying differences in hardware and provides a generic command for saving files or accessing the network.

2018

• https://stackoverflow.com/a/31503953
  • QUOTE: A platform, on the other hand, provides both the hardware and the software tools needed to run an application - be it a standalone program or one which has been built on top of a framework. Mostly, it comes in the flavor of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), meaning that the code-basis of the platform software itself is not distributed or licensed. Rather, it is part of a hosted solution running in a cloud which can be accessed via APIs or GUIs.

    Typically, platforms are built as scalable multi-tenancy systems, providing access to many users at the same time, thus using economies of scale to be able to offer services with an affordable price tag. Developers can then use platforms such as force.com or Google App Engine to build and run their own applications. In many cases, these applications are more light-weight than standalone programs because most of the business logic is contained in the platform.

2015

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/computing_platform Retrieved:2015-7-20.
  • A computing platform is, in the most general sense, whatever pre-existing environment a piece of computer software or code object is designed to run within, obeying its constraints, and making use of its facilities. The term computing platform can refer to different abstraction levels, including a certain hardware architecture, an operating system (OS), and runtime libraries. ...

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/computing_platform Retrieved:2014-3-4.
  • … Platforms may also include:
    • Hardware alone, in the case of small embedded systems. Embedded systems can access hardware directly, without an OS.
    • A browser in the case of web-based software. The browser itself runs on a hardware+OS platform, but this is not relevant to software running within the browser.
    • An application, such as a spreadsheet or word processor, which hosts software written in an application-specific scripting language, such as an Excel macro. This can be extended to writing fully-fledged applications with the Microsoft Office suite as a platform.
    • Software frameworks that provide ready-made functionality.
    • Cloud computing and Platform as a Service. Extending the idea of a software framework, these allow application developers to build software out of components that are hosted not by the developer, but by the provider, with internet communication linking them together. The social networking sites Twitter and facebook are also considered development platforms.
    • A virtual machine (VM) such as the Java virtual machine. Applications are compiled into a format similar to machine code, known as bytecode, which is then executed by the VM.
    • A virtualized version of a complete system, including virtualized hardware, OS, software and storage. These allow, for instance, a typical windows program to run on what is physically a Mac. Some architectures have multiple layers, with each layer acting as a platform to the one above it. In general, a component only has to be adapted to the layer immediately beneath it. For instance, a java program has to be written to use the java virtual machine (JVM) and associated libraries as a platform, but does not have to be adapted to run for the Windows, Linux or Macintosh OS platforms. However, the JVM, the layer beneath the application, does have to be built separately for each OS.

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