Device independent: Information from Answers.com

Device Independent also is the full name of the DVI file format.

A program or file is device independent when its function is universal on different types of device.

For the World Wide Web, this means writing simple common denominator Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) so that most Web user agents on most devices can render it acceptably to.

For computer programs, this generally means that it is written in a metalanguage that can be read by any platform. A program that was not originally written for a certain environment can be ported, i.e. the code can be adapted for a certain platform and compiled for the platform it will be functioning in. Unfortunately, this can lead to confusion if the user interface still resembles the one for the platform it was initially designed for.

For computer files, device independence means that software (or, theoretically, hardware) is in place that can interpret the file and allow the user to view or manipulate it. Good examples of cross-platform or device independent file formats are HTML and PDF, GIF and JPG.

External links

Device Independence Activity

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