واحد ساری Technical English For Computer and Information Technology Students Alireza Ghonoodi

Unit 2 Objectives:

Alpha version

Normally the first version of a software application that is feature-ready and released to testers

Alpha versions are rarely released to the public and frequently contain serious bugs.

Beta version

A software program used for testing purposes before it is released to the public

The beta version of our program was released for testing yesterday.
Freeware

Software distributed without cost by the developer which normally cannot be modified or sold without permission

The woman said she always searched for freeware versions of an application before buying one.
Help file

A file containing instructions how to use a certain feature or program

The help file often contains useful program shortcuts.

Patch

A software update intended to fix bugs or security holes in a software release

Software patches and other updates should be available on a software publisher's web site.
RC (release candidate)

A piece of software that has passed the beta testing stage and is almost ready to be released to the public

Apple refers internally to a release candidate as "the golden master."
Shareware

Proprietary software which can be distributed freely but is limited by features and/or time limit until a full version is purchased

Many companies have a shareware version of their software with a 30-day free trial.

Upgrade

To replace an older version of software or hardware with a newer version

The man needed to upgrade his office suite so he could export files as XML.