 A USB drive, shown with a mm ruler for scale. A portable application, or portable app for short, is a software program that does not require any kind of formal installation onto a computer's permanent storage device to be executed, and can be stored on a removable storage device such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, flash card, or even a floppy disk, enabling it to be used on multiple computers. This does not mean that it can be taken and used on a different operating system, processing platform, or another computer with completely different hardware (i.e., those that are not compatible with the software as stated by its requirements), so it is not to be confused with the concept of software portability, which is the ability for software to be run or compiled with little modification on diverse computing platforms. Ideally it can be configured to read its configuration files from the same storage location as the software program files. Image File history File links USB_flash_drive. ...
Image File history File links USB_flash_drive. ...
A computer program (often simply called a program) is an example of computer software that prescribes the actions (computations) that are to be carried out by a computer. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Installer. ...
The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ...
JumpDrive redirects here. ...
A USB flash drive. ...
A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ...
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed (e. ...
Another term sometimes used for portable applications is standalone.
Portable Windows applications Most software for Microsoft Windows is not designed to be portable. The Windows registry, the way that .dll libraries are managed, and the structure of the Windows Installer all tend to make application installation a one-way event. Mainstream applications like Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Word, for example, use the registry intensively, and store state information all over the file system, although software authoring guidelines suggest using the registry for settings and the user's profile (in the "My Documents" or "Documents and Settings" folders) for larger files dependent on a specific installation or the user's habits. Windows redirects here. ...
The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions, 64-bit versions and Windows Mobile. ...
The Dynamic-Link Library (DLL) is Microsofts implementation of a shared library for use in the Microsoft Windows operating system. ...
Nero software setup is using Windows Installer program The Windows Installer (previously known as Microsoft Installer, codename Darwin) is an engine for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems. ...
Photoshop redirects here. ...
Microsoft Word is Microsofts flagship word processing software. ...
In order to make portable applications, software developers must make their software applications leave the computer they run on completely "clean". This means that the application cannot use the registry, nor store its files anywhere on the machine other than in the application's installation directory. When installed to removable media, a program would need to store settings in an INI file (or similar configuration file) rather than in the registry. The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions, 64-bit versions and Windows Mobile. ...
An initialization file, or INI file, is a configuration file that contains configuration data for Microsoft Windows based applications. ...
One alternative strategy that exists for achieving application portability within Windows, without requiring application source code changes, is called virtualization. By using virtualization, an application can be "buffered" with DLLs that would intercept all file system and registry calls. This virtualization layer would intercept all non-portable calls, and would direct output to files located in the application's installation directory. This approach would leave the application unchanged, yet portable. In computing, virtualization is a broad term that refers to the abstraction of computer resources. ...
Portable Macintosh applications Many programs for the Macintosh OS X have an inherent degree of portability as they are packaged as "drag-install" application bundles, rather than as Installer packages. However, many applications bundles are not truly portable as they store their preferences in files on the local disc where the OS is installed. Macintosh applications which are designed to be portable store their preferences in the drive they are being run from. The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ...
Mac OS X (pronounced ) is a line of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. ...
Under NEXTSTEP, Mac OS X and GNUstep, a bundle is a directory that allows related resources such as software code to be grouped together. ...
Installer is an application included in Mac OS X which extracts and installs files out of . ...
Double portability There is a very restricted category of software that can support a sort of double portability, being both stand alone and cross-platform compatible, able to run on different hardware with little or no modifications, perhaps with minor restrictions. One such software is SymbOS, whose main modules can in their present form be executed on both Amstrad CPC and MSX machines without modification. Only some of its bundled applications are hardware-dependent. To a much lesser extent, Macintosh fat binary applications could be considered as cross-platform, but not always truly portable. Screen shot of the SymbOS Desktops on the Amstrad CPC Screen shot of the MSX version of SymbOS SymbOS is a free multitasking operating system for Z80 based 8-bit computer systems. ...
The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ...
Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ...
A fat binary (or multiarchitecture binary) is a computer program that is native to multiple instruction set architectures (ISA) and thus can be run on multiple processor types. ...
See also A USB drive Portable software is a class of software that is suitable for use on portable drives such as a USB (thumb) drive or iPod or Palm PDA with drive mode, although any external hard drive could theoretically be used. ...
This is a list of computer games that do not require any kind of formal installation onto a computers permanent storage device to be executed, and can be stored on a removable storage such as a USB flash drive and used on multiple computers. ...
PortableApps. ...
Windows redirects here. ...
MojoPac is a software virtualization product from RingCube Technologies. ...
The subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ...
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