Application binary interface

In computer software, an application binary interface (ABI) describes the low-level interface between an application program and the operating system, between an application and its libraries, or between component parts of the application. An ABI differs from an application programming interface (API) in that an API defines the interface between source code and libraries, so that the same source code will compile on any system supporting that API, whereas an ABI allows compiled object code to function without changes on any system using a compatible ABI.
See more at Wikipedia.org...

<programming> (ABI) The interface by which an application program gains access to operating system and other services. It should be possible to run the same compiled binary applications on any system with the right ABI.
Examples are 88open's Binary Compatibility Standard, the PowerOpen Environment and Windows sockets.
(1994-11-08)