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De - Pt| English Dictionary: portability | by the DICT Development Group |
| 3 results for portability | |
| From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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| From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
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Portability \Port`a*bil"i*ty\, n. The quality or state of being portable; fitness to be carried. | |
| From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]: | |
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portability software (or {file format}) can be "ported", i.e. made to run on a new {platform} and/or compile with a new {compiler}. The most important factor is the language in which the software is written and the most portable language is almost certainly {C} (though see {Vaxocentrism} for counterexamples). This is true in the sense that C compilers are available for most systems and are often the first compiler provided for a new system. This has led several compiler writers to compile other languages to C code in order to benefit from its portability (as well as the quality of compilers available for it). The least portable type of language is obviously {assembly code} since it is specific to one particular (family of) {processor}(s). It may be possible to translate mechanically from one assembly code (or even {machine code}) into another but this is not really portability. At the other end of the scale would come {interpreted} or {semi-compiled} languages such as {LISP} or {Java} which rely on the availability of a portable {interpreter} or {virtual machine} written in a lower level language (often C for the reasons outlined above). The act or result of porting a program is called a "port". E.g. "I've nearly finished the {Pentium} port of my big bang simulation." Portability is also an attribute of {file formats} and depends on their adherence to {standards} (e.g. {ISO 8859}) or the availability of the relevant "viewing" software for different {platforms} (e.g. {PDF}). (1997-06-18) | |
