Software portability

Software portability is the ability of software to run or be adapted across different computing environments with little or no modification. It depends on how much the software relies on environment-specific interfaces, tools, and assumptions.

Application programming interface: A defined interface through which software components communicate or request services. Stable interfaces let software rely on shared contracts rather than environment-specific implementations.
Operating system: System software that manages computer hardware and provides services to applications. Operating systems expose different services and conventions that portable software must accommodate.
Software compatibility: The ability of software or systems to work together or accept one another's formats and interfaces. Compatibility concerns whether specific systems work together; portability concerns moving software between environments.
Cross-platform software: Software designed to operate on more than one operating system or hardware platform. Cross-platform products make portability an explicit design and support goal.
Software testing: The process of evaluating software to find defects and verify expected behavior. Each supported environment adds combinations of configurations and behaviors that require testing.
Virtual machine: A software-based computer that executes programs within an abstracted hardware or operating-system environment. A virtual machine can provide a consistent execution environment across different host systems.
Instruction set architecture: The specification of instructions, registers, and behavior visible to machine-code software. Machine code built for one instruction set generally cannot execute directly on another.
Interoperability: The ability of distinct systems to exchange information and use it meaningfully. Interoperability connects separate systems, while portability relocates or adapts the software itself.
Source code portability: The ability to compile or interpret source code across different platforms with few changes. Source portability focuses on adapting and rebuilding code rather than moving an existing executable.
Technical debt: The future cost of maintaining or changing software after expedient design choices. Platform-specific shortcuts can reduce initial effort while making later portability costly.

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