operating system, programming The ease with which a piece of
software (or
file format) can be "ported", i.e. made to run
The most important factor is the language in which the
software is written and the most portable language is almost
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
assemblycode since it is specific to one particular (family of)
processor(s). It may be possible to translate mechanically
but this is not really portability. At the other end of the
such as
LISP or
Java which rely on the availability of a
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
availability of the relevant "viewing" software for different
(1997-06-18)