Programmseitig

Programmseitig is a German term used in information technology and software engineering to denote something that is implemented, controlled, or generated by software rather than by hardware or users. The term is often translated as "programmatically" or "on the software side." It is commonly used to distinguish software-driven behavior from hardware-driven or user-driven behavior.

In documentation and technical discussions, programmseitig describes processes, configurations, or interfaces that originate in the software. Examples include programmseitig erzeugte Fehlermeldung (error message generated by software), programmseitig konfigurierte Schnittstelle (interface configured by software), programmseitige Steuerung (software-controlled), or programmseitig auf Ereignisse reagieren (react to events programmatically). It often contrasts with benutzerseitig (on the user side) or hardwareseitig (on the hardware side) and appears in API descriptions to indicate programmatic access rather than manual operation.

Nuances: While commonly implying that software is responsible, programmseitig does not by itself specify the trigger (manual, scheduled, or event-driven). The term is largely neutral, though some contexts prefer more precise phrases like durch Software gesteuert or in Software implementiert. It is widely used in German-speaking IT environments in Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland.

Etymology: The word is formed from Programm and seitig (a suffix indicating relation to a side or aspect). It is part of a set of compound adjectives used to classify system aspects by their origin, whether software-based, hardware-based, or user-based.