Re: Definitions of Software and Database

From: mAsterdam <mAsterdam_at_vrijdag.org>
Date: Sat, 04 Feb 2006 12:40:26 +0100
Message-ID: <43e4920d$0$11067$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl>

Marshall Spight wrote:
> dawn wrote:
>

>>I thought I would start a new thread since the other was quite OT.  x
>>said there was likely a legal definition of software and I haven't
>>searched for that yet, but I did find a legal def of database at
>>http://dataright.haifa.ac.il/db-definition.htm

>
> I'm unclear why we'd care what a lawyer thinks a database is.
> Are we thinking of writing legislation?
>
> I've always liked "a database is a collection of facts." Short and
> to the point.
>
> Let's extend that to "software is a collection of instructions."
> I would prefer "... a collection of functions" but that's
> probably too specific.

And too generic. Functions may well be implemented in hardware.

> Some programming languages aren't
> organized around functions. Assembly, say.
Received on Sat Feb 04 2006 - 05:40:26 CST