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Author What is COTS Software?
anna

2006-02-01, 8:00 am

I happened to come across the term COTS Software .. Can anybody tell me
what is it?
and what is Off the Shelf ??

Wayne Woodruff

2006-02-01, 8:00 am



>I happened to come across the term COTS Software .. Can anybody tell me
>what is it?
>and what is Off the Shelf ??


You go to the store and buy it "Off the Shelf", e.g. Microsoft Office,
Adobe Photoshop, etc


Wayne Woodruff
http://www.jtan.com/~wayne
SwGuy

2006-02-01, 8:00 am

Basically commerial software. Highly specialized RTOSes that are
certified to DO-178B level A is non-COTS.

Short for commercial off-the-shelf, an adjective that describes
software or hardware products that are ready-made and available for
sale to the general public. For example, Microsoft Office is a COTS
product that is a packaged software solution for businesses. COTS
products are designed to be implemented easily into existing systems
without the need for customization.

A COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) product is one that is used "as-is."
COTS products are designed to be easily installed and to interoperate
with existing system components. Almost all software bought by the
average computer user fits into the COTS category: operating systems,
office product suites, word processing, and e-mail programs are among
the myriad examples. One of the major advantages of COTS software,
which is mass-produced, is its relatively low cost.

H. S. Lahman

2006-02-01, 7:03 pm

Responding to Anna...

> I happened to come across the term COTS Software .. Can anybody tell me
> what is it?
> and what is Off the Shelf ??


COTS is Commercial Off The Shelf. OTS refers to something that is
already available, as in sitting on a shelf. IOW it is readily
obtainable on short notice.

COTS was coined by the milaero industry to describe OTS systems that
were already available commercially. Until the '90s the large milaero
companies tended to build everything uniquely for specific contracts.
Then the US DoD noticed that in many case the equivalent systems were
already available as commercial products for a lot less money. So DoD
stopped making their own PCs and bought them from commercial vendors.

As it happens, a lot of COTS systems aren't really fully OTS. Usually
commercial systems are customized to some extent (e.g., to meet shock
requirements equivalent to falling off the back of a HumVee).


*************
There is nothing wrong with me that could
not be cured by a capful of Drano.

H. S. Lahman
hsl@pathfindermda.com
Pathfinder Solutions -- Put MDA to Work
http://www.pathfindermda.com
blog: http://pathfinderpeople.blogs.com/hslahman
(888)OOA-PATH



anna

2006-02-02, 3:57 am

thank you for your valuable information.. i never knew that almost all
the software i use in r COTS Softwares.... thank u

Andrew Gabb

2006-02-08, 7:00 pm

Wayne Woodruff wrote:
>
> You go to the store and buy it "Off the Shelf", e.g. Microsoft Office,
> Adobe Photoshop, etc


.... not to be with 'shelf-ware', ie software that you buy
then leave on (your own) shelf, because it's totally useless for one
reason or another.

Andrew
--
Andrew Gabb
email: agabb@tpgi.com.au Adelaide, South Australia
phone: +61 8 8342-1021, fax: +61 8 8269-3280
-----
killer85

2006-02-15, 6:48 pm

hi, ca any one please give me an example of 3 different COTS components and vendors that provide them.

also if possible there functionality and environment needed for their implementation.

thanx so much
killer85

2006-02-15, 6:50 pm

quote:
Originally posted by killer85
hi, ca any one please give me an example of 3 different COTS components and vendors that provide them.

also if possible there functionality and environment needed for their implementation.

my email adress is sulphar86@yahoo.com.


thanx so much

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