Software that can run on a variety of hardware platforms or software architectures. Platform-independent software can be used in many different environments, requiring less planning and translation across an enterprise. For example, the Java programming language was designed to run on multiple types of hardware and multiple operating systems. If Java platform-independence becomes a reality, organizations with multiple types of computers will be able to write a specialized application once and have it be used by virtually everyone, rather than having to write, distribute and maintain multiple versions of the same program.