Vitally....
this post was submitted on 22 May 2025
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App is actually correct for all but the OS.
What's the difference between an application and a program?
I don't think there's a clear definition of either. I'd say if it has no UI, it's a program. And if it has a UI, I don't know if it's a program or an app.
Historically, an app is something with very limited uses, and a program is more powerful.
Adobe PhotoShop is a program. Apple Photos is an app.
I'd say it gets a little different with command line utilities
maybe "utility" is the appropriate term here, but I'd call something like grep a program, not an application (again
"utility" also works).
To be sure, grep is extremely powerful, but its scope is limited.
The original Macintosh had an Applications folder. App is what I use to cut through tech speak for people at work because the shortcut is less daunting. They have apps on their phone. They must not be scary like Programs and Applications.
thing and stuff
I think both are fine. Regular people don't need more than "app", but professionals still know and use other words too.
In my workplace they use robot for everything
The braces are nice touch.
The word app has been around forever, first appearing in the 1970s (according to some dictionaries I just googled). Pendulum swung towards “programs” and we have since swung back to the correct term.
Double plus good!
The meme is good and all, but seeing it makes me feel irrationally annoyed because the first place I saw it was a rascist pleroma (fediverse software; mastodon but rasict) instance that had it embedded in the frontend. This just reminds me of it.
This is nonsense.