[salviati]

I think the name "app" is quite universally recognized as "mobile application", i.e. application for iOS or Android.

I think you should call it "application" to avoid confusion. Windows application would be even clearer.

[orev]

No, that ship sailed long ago. “App” has universally been a synonym for “application”, “program”, etc. for quite a number of years now. Even Windows 10 called them “apps” in the settings screen.

[mmmlinux]

What happened to executable?

[salviati]

`/bin/ls` is an executable but it's not an application. The two terms are different.

[soulofmischief]

An application might contain one or more executables.

[soulofmischief]

On my personal computer running macOS, I have this program called "App Store". And on my GNU/Linux machine, I have all of these weird programs distributed as something called "AppImage". And on my Windows machine, the Microsoft Store has a tagline which says, "Microsoft Store - Download apps, games & more".

There is not a desktop/mobile distinction in terminology other than the one you're attempting to enforce.

[salviati]

I thought providing my point of view was contributing to the discussion. I didn't mean to enforce anything.

I still don't think most people would call Excel or Photoshop "apps", but I'm absorbing the points of view expressed in the replies to my comment.

[freedomben]

Yep, as much as I wish there were a distinction, I think there pretty clearly is not anymore. In related news, I hate that restaurants are now calling "Appetizers" "apps" because it massively confuses me for several seconds. IRL really needs namespacing

[jaramy]

I agree with you. I used "app" just as a shorthand for "application".