Software package
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A software package is a special method for the distribution and installation of software on computer systems.
The most common type of software package seen by the average computer user is that found sold in stores. An example might be a popular word processor. A user would purchase the software, then follow the given instructions to install the software on their home machine.
A very common type of software package is that found on many Unix-like operating systems. These are often a single file containing many more files to be installed, along with rules describing what other software needs to be installed for the package to function properly.
The term software package is also used in object-oriented programming to name a group of related classes of a program. In this meaning, packages are especially useful to measure and control the inherent coupling of a program.
In a modular program, even outside OOP, the term "software package" may refer to any component (see also module) that can be integrated into the main program through a well-defined interface and, typically, by the end user. In other contexts, the integration must occur at source code level, therefore requiring the knowledge of a given programming language.
See also
References
- {{cite book
| author = Robert Cecil Martin | year = 2002 | title = Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices | publisher = Pearson Education | id = ISBN 0-13-597444-5
}}fr:Paquet logiciel it:Package ja:パッケージソフトウェア pl:Pakiet instalacyjny pt:Package