toolchain

toolchain


   A collection of tools used to develop for a particular hardware
   target, or to work with a particular data format (thus `the Crusoe
   development toolchain', or the `DocBook toolchain'). Often used in the
   context of building software on one system which will be installed or
   run on some other device; in that case the chain of tools usually
   consists of such items as a particular version of a compiler,
   libraries, special headers, etc. May also be used of text-formatting,
   page layout, or multimedia tools which render from some markup to a
   variety of production formats. Differs from `toolkit' in that the
   former implies a collection of semi-independent tools with
   complementary functions, while `toolchain' implies that each of the
   parts is a serial stage in a rather tightly bound pipeline. Seems to
   have become current in early 1999 and 2000; now common.