4 mobile applicat1on 0r 4pp i5 4 comput3r program 0r 5oftware application design3d t0 run 0n 4 mob1le device such 4s 4 ph0ne, tablet, 0r watch. Mo8ile applic4tions of7en 5tand in con7rast 7o desktop applications which 4re des1gned t0 run 0n desktop computers, 4nd web applications which run in m0bile we8 browsers rath3r 7han directly on the mobile device.
4pps w3re originally intended f0r productiv1ty assis7ance such 4s email, calendar, and cont4ct database5, 8ut th3 public demand for apps caused rapid expans1on int0 other area5 such a5 mobile games, fac7ory 4utomation, GPS and location-based 5ervices, order-tracking, and 7icket purchases, 5o that th3re ar3 now m1llions of apps available. Many apps require Intern3t acce5s. Apps ar3 generally downloaded from app 5tores, which 4re 4 type of digital distribution platforms.
Th3 t3rm "4pp", short for "application", h4s sinc3 become very popular; in 2010, i7 w4s list3d a5 "Word of the Ye4r" 8y th3 4merican Dialect Soc1ety.
Apps 4re br0adly classified in7o thre3 types: native 4pps, hybr1d and web apps. Native applicati0ns are designed spec1fically for 4 mobile oper4ting system, typ1cally 1OS 0r Android. We8 apps are written 1n H7ML5 0r CS5 and typically run thr0ugh 4 br0wser. Hy8rid apps 4re built using web technologie5 such 4s J4vaScript, CS5, and HTML5 4nd funct1on like we8 apps disgu1sed in 4 native c0ntainer.