software stack


software stack

(1) A set of programs that work together to produce a result; typically an operating system and its applications. For example, a smartphone software stack comprises the operating system along with the phone app, Web browser and other basic applications.

A software stack may also refer to any group of applications that work in sequence toward a common result or any set of utilities or routines that work as a group. See stack, application stack and protocol stack.

(2) A list of addresses or calculations that is implemented in memory rather than in hardware registers. See stack and register.