Web application (Web app)
A Web application (Web app) is an application
program that is stored on a remote server and delivered over the Internet through a browser
interface.
Web services are Web apps
by definition and many, although not all, websites contain Web apps. According to Web.AppStorm
editor Jarel Remick, any website component that performs some function for the user qualifies as a
Web app:
“I always ask myself, ‘Does it do something?’ Even if it only does
something small and specific, it’s still a web app. Google’s search engine is a web app, yet its
root concept is hardly different from a phone directory that enables you to search names or
numbers.”
Within the mobile computing sector, Web apps are sometimes contrasted with native apps, which
are applications that are developed specifically for a particular platform or device
and installed on that device. However, the two are not mutually exclusive because many applications
contain elements of both native and Web apps. Programs that combine the two approaches are
sometimes referred to as hybrid applications.
See also: portability, application
security, Software as a Service (SaaS)
This was last updated in July 2011
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