What ever happened to programs? Was there something about that word that terribly offended people? Too hard to type out? Is 'app' soon going to be replaced by some kind of pictogram?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Enquiring minds want to know.
There's an important distinction which often don't see discussed when this topic comes up: It can be very dangerous to install a program on your machine, but an 'app' comes with some assurance. People often think of the app store as a method for MS to grab your money, but in my opinion it fixes many of the installation/deployment problems that have existed on windows since... 95?
'Programs' typically require an MSI for installation. You'd better know, and trust, the MSI before you give it the required administrative privileges it needs to run, because a rogue MSI can absolutely own your machine.
On the other hand, 'Apps' declare what they are going to do to your machine via the manifest, so you kind of know what you are getting into before your install. The apps are sandboxed, so they have limited ability to tamper with your machine, and they can be uninstalled in a more uniform fashion.
In short, I feel much better telling my Grandma that she can install an 'App', but i'm much less confident telling her that it's ok to install a program via Installer.MSI.
An "App" (mobile-style) is a new word. It implies (again, to me) a sandboxed program with a simplified, single-window, full-screen UI.
The same 3 letters (app) have been used my entire life to refer to computer programs, but the connotation has shifted a lot.
As far as I know, that is the main difference: apps are sandboxed programs which you can easily install and deinstall without affecting the rest of the system.
Or...?
They used to be called apps when we made them for J2ME phones. Symbian apps were not sandboxed, but J2ME ones were, and this was the majority. Later on apple brought sandboxed apps to the iphone.
And no-one knew what an app was back then, most seemed surprised that a person even made the games they played on their phones.
MS seems pretty serious about trying to get developers on board with their platform. I can't imagine them reversing course on this, especially with "Tim Sweeney is wrong about everything, UWP is an open platform" being a recurring subtext of the keynote.
If they were distributed as .programx files instead of .appx files, maybe you'd have a point.
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.
Source: I was around then ;)
http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-apps-and-exception-ha...