Browse Definitions :
Definition

legacy platform (legacy operating system)

A legacy platform, also called a legacy operating system, is an operating system (OS) no longer in widespread use, or that has been supplanted by an updated version of earlier technology. Many enterprises that use computers have legacy platforms, as well as legacy application s, that serve critical business needs. With the release of Windows XP, for example, Windows 9x became a legacy platform. Earlier, Windows 9x had made Windows 3.x a legacy. Similar evolution has taken place, and will doubtless continue, with the Mac OS, Linux, and other platforms.

It can be difficult or impossible to run new applications on legacy platforms. In some cases, a new version of a program will work with an older OS, but this cannot be taken for granted. It is not uncommon for a new release of an "old reliable" program to function partially, marginally, or not at all on a computer with a legacy OS. The computer might even crash when the new version of the program is launched. The likelihood of encountering such problems becomes greater, in general, as the age difference between the application and the OS increases.

Historically, applications have been written for specific manufacturers' operating systems. Currently, many companies are migrating their applications to new programming languages and operating systems that follow open or standard programming interfaces. The intent is to make it easier in the future to update programs without having to rewrite them entirely, and ultimately to allow any enterprise to use its applications on any operating system.

This was last updated in March 2011

Continue Reading About legacy platform (legacy operating system)

Networking
Security
  • Mitre ATT&CK framework

    The Mitre ATT&CK (pronounced miter attack) framework is a free, globally accessible knowledge base that describes the latest ...

  • timing attack

    A timing attack is a type of side-channel attack that exploits the amount of time a computer process runs to gain knowledge about...

  • privileged identity management (PIM)

    Privileged identity management (PIM) is the monitoring and protection of superuser accounts that hold expanded access to an ...

CIO
HRSoftware
  • employee resource group (ERG)

    An employee resource group is a workplace club or more formally realized affinity group organized around a shared interest or ...

  • employee training and development

    Employee training and development is a set of activities and programs designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of ...

  • employee sentiment analysis

    Employee sentiment analysis is the use of natural language processing and other AI techniques to automatically analyze employee ...

Customer Experience
  • customer profiling

    Customer profiling is the detailed and systematic process of constructing a clear portrait of a company's ideal customer by ...

  • customer insight (consumer insight)

    Customer insight, also known as consumer insight, is the understanding and interpretation of customer data, behaviors and ...

  • buyer persona

    A buyer persona is a composite representation of a specific type of customer in a market segment.

Close