Ohjelmistopino

Ohjelmistopino, or software stack, refers to the set of software components that together enable a software system to run. It includes the operating system, server software, runtime environments, application frameworks, programming languages and libraries, databases, and front-end technologies. The concept highlights how these components interact and are chosen to meet requirements such as scalability, maintainability, security, and performance.

A typical ohjelmistopino is layered. The operating system provides the base, followed by web servers or application servers that handle requests. A runtime and/or framework runs the application logic, while a database stores data. Client-side technologies render the user interface. Additional layers often include caching, messaging, search, and monitoring services. In modern architectures, components may be open-source or commercial and are frequently deployed as containers or via cloud services to improve portability and scalability.

Common examples of stacks include the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl) and the MEAN/MERN stacks (MongoDB, Express, Angular/React, Node.js). Cloud-based and microservices-based configurations are also widespread, including serverless approaches. Decisions about the ohjelmistopino are guided by factors such as team expertise, system requirements, data considerations, latency, and budget. The concept also encompasses practices related to version control, continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), and deployment strategies, since these processes interact with the stack.

In Finnish IT discourse, the term is used to describe and compare the technologies used to build and operate software, and to plan modernization or migration efforts.