An operating context for an application is the external environment that influences its operation. For a mobile application, the OC is defined by the hardware and software environment in the device, the target user, and other constraints imposed by various other stakeholders, such as a carrier.

This concept differs from the operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

 (OS) by the impact of these various other stakeholders.

Example

Here is an example of one device, with one operating system, changing its operating context without changing the OS.

A user with a mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

 changes SIM cards, removing card A, and inserting card B. The phone will now make any network

Telecommunications network

A telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network must have a unique address so messages or connections...

 calls over cell phone carrier A's network, rather than B's.

Any applications running on the phone will run in a new operating context, and will often have to change functionality to adapt to the abilities, and business logic, of the new carrier. The network, spectrum, and wireless protocol all change in this example. These changes must be reflected back to the user, so the user knows what experience to expect, and thus these changes all change the user interface

User interface

The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...

 (UI) also.

Hardware agnostic context

Situations exist where one can program in a context, with less concern about what hardware it will actually run on. Examples include Flash and Android.

Unfortunately, it also quite common that code in a hardware free context will see hardware specific bugs. This is common with software written for, that interacts more directly with, personal computer

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 (PC) hardware, or mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s.