Native describes a computing system as operating directly with an underlying technology; with no intervening communication or translation layers.

Native software

Native software is built to be executed directly by processors that implement a compatible

instruction set In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that generally defines how software controls the CPU in a computer or a family of computers. A device or program that executes instructions described by that ISA, s ...

. A program that runs natively on one platform is runnable on another platform via an emulator if an emulator is available and, generally, with significant runtime speed degradation. For example, games for a Game Boy (typically distributed as a cartridge), generally run natively on a Game Boy which is relatively incompatible with other computer platforms. To run such a game on another processor, software that emulates the Game Boy hardware is required. Cross-platform software can run on multiple processors although possibly requiring it to be re-built for different target systems.

Native API

A native

application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that des ...

(API) provides direct access to an underlying technology. For example, the Windows Native API is an

specific for the Windows NT kernel, which provides access to some kernel functions which cannot be directly accessed through the more universal Windows API.

Native VM

A native virtual machine (VM) runs directly on hardware; without virtualization or virtualization at its lowest level. For example, with multiple levels of virtualization, the lowest level operating system the one that actually maintains direct control of the hardware is referred to as a "Native VM".

Native data

Applied to

data Data ( , ) are a collection of discrete or continuous values that convey information, describing the quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted for ...

, native data formats or

communication protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics (computer science), sem ...

s are those supported by a certain

computer hardware Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the central processing unit (CPU), random-access memory (RAM), motherboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, and computer case. It includes external devices ...

or software, with maximal consistency and minimal amount of additional components. For example, EGA and VGA video adapters ''natively'' support code page 437. This does not preclude supporting other code pages, but it requires either a font uploading or using graphic modes.

Cloud Native

Cloud native refers to the approach of building, deploying, and managing applications in cloud computing environments for software optimized for running on a cloud-based platform.

References

{{Reflist Computer jargon