appliance

An appliance can be a hardware component or a software program. The term appliance is used in consumer electronics, household technology, industrial devices, end devices and for network components, among others. Appliances are devices that perform a defined function and are easy to install and operate. For example, household appliances are referred to as home appliances or domestic appliances.

Home appliances include kitchen appliances, which are classified as"white goods" and are used in smart homes. These include washing machines, microwave ovens, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, etc. Other appliances are used in building automation. These can be air conditioners and alarm systems, as well as appliances used in smart grids.

Incomputer and network technology, network components and end devices whose software is geared to an application are referred to as appliances: Network appliance, Internet appliance, server appliance, security appliance, e-mail appliance, archive appliance, information appliance or UTM appliance, etc.

The appliance approach differs from the universal approach in the simplicity of appliance devices. Appliances have computing power but are as simple to use as consumer appliances. They have limited functionality and are equipped with a simple user interface.