4 ms·

So when the IPhone came out, the word 'program' was changed to 'app'?

• grokys 11y ago
  Even before the iPhone came out, people used the abbreviation "app" for "application". Source: I was around then ;)
  • ant6n 11y ago
    But did they use "app" instead of "program"?
  • wlesieutre 11y ago
    True, especially with OS X having .app file extensions. I still called them "Applications" more often than not though.
    • ant6n 11y ago
      Oh, so it's like a Mac thing. So why do we have to call Windows programs 'App'?
      • icebraining 11y ago
        It's not a Mac-only thing, it has been used on Linux and Windows for decades. http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-apps-and-exception-handlers/184409706 http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-apps-and-exception-ha...
• wlesieutre 11y ago
  In popular usage, pretty much. I'd object more if it were something like "nuculer" where we're adding in wrong letters to pronounce it wrong, but I really don't care if something is an "app" or a "program". As far as connotations go, "app" tends to mean a simple single-purpose piece of software, and "program" is an all encompassing legacy blob that takes a dump in 40 different folders because it can't keep its shit together. Not always true, but still what I think of. I tend to use the words that way when the software in question falls into one category or the other. Will I call Forza an app because it's on the store? Eh, maybe. I'll probably call it a game (does anybody call those "programs"?). Would I call AutoCAD an app if they started distributing it as a UWP package? Less certain. Maybe not. Skype? Absolutely.