Software platform
In software development, a "platform" is not simply an app or computer program. It is a technical framework, an enclosed environment within which applications, including dApps, can be made. Platforms often include tools for developers to create apps so that they do not have to code them from scratch. Facebook is an excellent example of this; although it is technically an application, it is also a platform, because apps can be built to run within it, and it includes tools that can be used to create Facebook apps with relative ease. Another example of this is Ethereum, which provides the capability for developers to create applications within the Ethereum "environment."[1]
