These programs can take several forms. Executable: they can be directly executed by the computer; generally, they can be executed only on one type of machine and operating system (for example: Microsoft Windows on a PC);
However, there are executables (bytecode) executables on a variety of platforms (such as Java), but in fact the execution for a virtual machine, which is itself a software available on the various platforms.
Source files: it is generally a text respecting the rules of writing a particular programming language, as an indication of the order of magnitude of the size of a program like Microsoft Word is a million lines of code;
for a compiled language: they must be translated into an executable by a compiler; for an interpreter: they are executed directly from reading (eg Perl or PHP scripts).
Libraries: it is a set of functions which, in themselves, are not directly executable and do not offer the user functionality, but provide services to other programs (for example, Libraries can be found allowing a program to load animations or play sounds), we find particularly dynamic libraries (dll so Windows or GNU / Linux).
The data associated with the software can also be of different formats: classic files, databases (relational, hierarchical, and so on.). The software can be split into a large number of files, or software can be assembled into a single file, for example, in Windows, the definition of the user interface, the design of icons. Are often integrated in the same file as the main application.
Software development [edit]
Article: Software development.
The software, depending on their size, can be developed by a single person, a small team, or a set of coordinates teams. The development of large software by large teams poses significant problems of coordination, because of the large amount of information to be communicated between stakeholders: documentation, meetings. For these reasons, software development in a professional context often follows strict rules for group work and maintenance of the code, because often, people who have to operate subsequent changes in the code are no longer those who have developed.
A new model of development, however, tends to spread the bazaar (model used for the design of GNU / Linux)
A software in beta (or beta test) is a software not finalized, which conducts a series of tests until a relative stability is achieved. Those who seek the latest vulnerabilities of these software versions are called beta-testers.
Mar 31