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</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="Domain_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Domain (disambiguation)">Domain</a>.</div>
<p>In <a href="Software_engineering" title="Software engineering">software engineering</a>, <b>domain</b> is the targeted subject area of a <a href="Computer_program" title="Computer program">computer program</a>. Formally it represents the target subject of a specific <a href="Computer_programming" title="Computer programming">programming</a> project, whether narrowly or broadly defined.<sup id="cite_ref-Bjørner_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bjørner-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, for a particular programming project that has as a goal of the creation of a program for a particular hospital, that hospital would be the domain. Or, the project can be expanded in scope to include <em>all</em> hospitals as its domain.<sup id="cite_ref-Bjørner_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bjørner-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 352">: 352 </span></sup> In a computer programming design, one defines a domain by delineating a set of common requirements, terminology, and functionality for any software program constructed to solve a problem in the area of computer programming, known as <i><a href="Domain_engineering" title="Domain engineering">domain engineering</a></i>. The word "domain" is also taken as a synonym of <i>application domain</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Bjørner_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bjørner-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<blockquote><p><b>Domain</b> in the realm of software engineering commonly refers to the subject area on which the application is intended to apply. In other words, during application development, the domain is the "sphere of knowledge and activity around which the application logic revolves." —Andrew Powell-Morse<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<blockquote><p><b>Domain:</b> A sphere of knowledge, influence, or activity. The subject area to which the user applies a program is the domain of the software. —Eric Evans<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Domain-driven_design" title="Domain-driven design">Domain-driven design</a></li>
<li><a href="Domain-specific_programming_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Domain-specific programming language">Domain-specific programming language</a></li>
<li><a href="Domain_model" title="Domain model">Domain model</a></li>
<li><a href="Programming_domain" title="Programming domain">Programming domain</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-Bjørner-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bjørner_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bjørner_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bjørner_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">
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</style><cite id="CITEREFBjørner2006" class="citation book cs1">Bjørner, Dines (2006). "The Triptych of Software Engineering". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783540211518"><i>Software Engineering 3 – Domains, Requirements, and Software Design</i></a> (book). Vol. I. Springer Verlag. p. 9. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-3-540-33653-2</bdi><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2016-12-19</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFAndrew_Powell-Morse2017" class="citation web cs1">Andrew Powell-Morse (April 21, 2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20250531225620/https://blog.airbrake.io/blog/software-design/domain-driven-design">"Domain-Driven Design - What is it and how do you use it?"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://airbrake.io/blog/software-design/domain-driven-design">the original</a> on May 31, 2025<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 1,</span> 2025</span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFEric_Evans2015" class="citation web cs1">Eric Evans (2015). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://domainlanguage.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/DDD_Reference_2015-03.pdf">"Domain Driven Design Reference: Definitions and Pattern Summaries"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>domainlanguage.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 2,</span> 2020</span>.</cite></span>
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