In Computing, What is Beta Software?

In Computing, What is Beta Software?

When software companies are in the developmental stages of a new software program, they will usually release a beta software version (a prototype if you may) first before selling the product to the general public. 

A beta software version of a program is software that is in its infancy stage.  During this stage the software is tested and retested for bugs, errors, crashes, inconsistencies, and any other problems that may arise.  There may be feature changes etc.  In the past, beta versions were only available to the company’s developers.

But today, more and more companies release Beta versions to the general public for "field testing".  There is no way that the software publisher can test its product in ALL possible conditions.  It is then reasonable to say the wide use of their product may uncover issues that were not discovered during in-house testing. 

This way the developers get real users to use the program in real life situations, thus receiving back real problems to solve.  The feedback that is provided from these "beta testers" enable the developers to pin-point the errors and problems so that they can be addressed before the full release to the paying public.

Usually the beta software versions are free for use for a period of time.  These pre-release beta software programs are usually identified by a "b" in the version number.  Example:  Firefox 2.2b3.  Take into account that a beta software version will not come with a guarantee that it will work and my cause your computer to crash.  The publisher expects to be notified when these issues arise.

Learn more about this author on Google+.