Component Type Classification for a Runtime

[gilday]

Which component type might best describe a program language runtime such as Java's runtime environment or Python's interpreter?

Maybe application, because are technically applications whose input is another application to run. There is some precedence for this: the Eclipse Temurin project describes their software as an application in their SBOM (see adoptium/temurin-build#2869).

Maybe framework, because these runtimes fit the description of a software framework as defined in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_framework.

In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software, providing generic functionality, can be selectively changed by additional user-written code, thus providing application-specific software. It provides a standard way to build and deploy applications and is a universal, reusable software environment that provides particular functionality as part of a larger software platform to facilitate the development of software applications, products and solutions.

[stevespringett]

Either application or framework may be used for now. In the next version of the standard, we will likely introduce "platform" or similar term, to describe both local and SaaS runtime environments.

[gilday]

Thanks @stevespringett. By "next version of the standard", are you referring to the 1.5 or 2.0 milestone?

[stevespringett]

It's targeted at v1.5.