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or "integrated applications environment", as some sources call it. |
user interface provided by an applications manager |
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{{distinguish|Programming environment}}
{{Refimprove|date=June 2012}}
In [[computer software]], an '''operating environment''' or '''integrated applications environment''' is the environment in which users run [[application software]]. The environment consists of a [[user interface]] provided by an '''applications manager''' and an [[application programming interface]] (API) to the applications manager.
An operating environment is usually ''not'' a full [[operating system]] but is a form of [[middleware]] that rests between the OS and the application. For example, the first version of [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Windows 1.0]], was not a full operating system, but a [[GUI]] laid over DOS albeit with an API of its own. Similarly, the [[IBM U2]] system operates on both [[Unix]]/[[Linux]] and [[Windows NT]]. Usually the user interface is [[text-based user interface|text-based]] or [[graphical user interface|graphical]], rather than a [[command-line interface]] (e.g., [[DOS]] or the [[Unix shell]]), which is often the interface of the underlying operating system.
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