software

Related to software: types of software

software as a service

A software distribution model in which a client pays via subscription for a third party to store and maintain applications that can be accessed by the client over the Internet (i.e. on the cloud). Sometimes hyphenated. Software as a service makes it easy for businesses to maintain a current software suite.
See also: service, software

software decay

The tendency for computer software to become gradually worse in performance or responsiveness over time, eventually leading to it becoming completely faulty, unresponsive, or unusable. This is either due to software failing to remain up to date and compatible with the operating system in which it operates, or because the software's code has been updated or altered in ways that have introduced more bugs and errors over time. (It doesn't refer to actual physical decay.) If you want to develop programs that people continue to use for years to come, you've got to factor in ways to avoid software decay with each new update, the users will eventually move on to something that works better. A lot of people just let programs sit on their hard drives for years at a time without being updated or upgraded at all, and then are totally flabbergasted when software decay renders them totally unusable down the line.
See also: decay, software

software entropy

The tendency for computer software to become gradually worse in performance or responsiveness over time, eventually leading to it becoming completely faulty, unresponsive, or unusable. This is either due to software failing to remain up to date and compatible with the operating system in which it operates, or because the software's code has been updated or altered in ways that have introduced more bugs and errors over time. (It doesn't refer to actual physical decay.) If you want to develop programs that people continue to use for years to come, you've got to factor in ways to avoid software entropy with each new update, the users will eventually move on to something that works better. A lot of people just let programs sit on their hard drives for years at a time without being updated or upgraded at all, and then are totally flabbergasted when software entropy renders them totally unusable down the line.
See also: software

software rot

The tendency for computer software to become gradually worse in performance or responsiveness over time, eventually leading to it becoming completely faulty, unresponsive, or unusable. This is either due to software failing to remain up to date and compatible with the operating system in which it operates, or because the software's code has been updated or altered in ways that have introduced more bugs and errors over time. (It doesn't refer to actual physical decay.) If you want to develop programs that people continue to use for years to come, you've got to factor in ways to avoid software rot with each new update, the users will eventually move on to something that works better. A lot of people just let programs sit on their hard drives for years at a time without being updated or upgraded at all, and then are totally flabbergasted when software rot renders them totally unusable down the line.
See also: rot, software
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

software rot

n. an imaginary disease that causes computer programs to go bad over a long period of time. (Computers.) What you have here is not a bug, but just plain old software rot.
See also: rot, software
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • software as a service
  • (something) as a service
  • SaaS
  • pay(s) your money and take(s) your choice, you
  • wardriving
  • hacked
  • OTT
  • cord-cutting
  • you can/can't talk
  • you should talk
References in periodicals archive
The DOT recently found that an agreement stating that a software vendor shall "deliver the initial System to Customer and install it at the location determined by the Customer on the date set forth ...," along with a provision that all products are shipped "F.O.B." unless otherwise specified, was sufficient to show that tangible personal property could be received; see VA DOT, Pub.
DEFENSE PROJECT SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Today backup software is still a scheduled process, one that essentially runs in the foreground when it is doing its thing.
* Planning and management software * Media relations software * Design software * Constituent relationship management * List management
"Automakers are moving to standardize CAN functions and so, in theory, all modules will run the same software, but the auto industry is not there yet.
IDC used proprietary statistics for software and hardware shipments, conducted more than 7,000 interviews in 23 countries, and enlisted IDC analysts in over 50 countries to review local market conditions.
Highly functional and fully featured software focuses on reducing time and giving the information necessary to improve quality of care and life for residents.
An IDC report released in March looks at major shifts in software licensing.
In Argentina, two bills have been submitted since 2001 requiring the federal government to use free software and some state offices are already using it on their own.
com, is a contributing editor to The Pulse: Education's Place for Debate, director of global operations for the Thornburg Center and the author of When the Best Is Free: An Educator's Perspective on Open Source Software.
Now as a wholly-owned Cal-Bay subsidiary, COBS is lauding Maki's TLCO Software as a key tool in a making a "quantum leap" in their expansion plans in the online homebuilding and construction arena.
A primary decision recyclers have to make when choosing what kind of software is the best match for their particular operations is whether to use separate inventory, sales and accounting software or a combination package.
I think procuring software is really one of our most important challenges, and I'm taking steps to improve the way we do business.
Other ERP systems will be shown by CMS software, Cyframe, DTR Plastics Solutions, Factory Intelligence Network, Made2Manage, and Syscon-PlantStar.
Accounting firms have improved audit efficiencies by using electronic audit tools for more than two decades, starting with trial balance software in the early 1980s.