A term describing software that can run on a variety of hardware platforms or software architectures. Platform-independent software can be used in many different environments, requiring less planning and translation across an enterprise. For example, the Java programming language was designed to run on multiple types of hardware and multiple operating systems.
(adj.) Describes software or other technology that "doesn't care" what kind of computer the end user has. Platform-independent applications may run on any kind of computer (example: programs written in the JAVA programming language), or may not rely on the end user's system for anything other than display and input (example: HTML pages on the Web).
The Use Case contains requirements (e.g., functions, features, business rules). These requirements are "platform-independent" when those requirements do not specify or rely on specific technologies, operating systems or vendors. The Use Case documents the way that the application should function, not the software to be used by the developer to create the application.
If something is platform-independent, you don't need a particular type of computer or particular software to use it. Perhaps the best example is the internet, which you can access from a PC, Mac or just about any other type of computer, and using a huge range of different software.
Platform-independent or architecture-independent means, for example, that a program can be deployed regardless of the operating system and computer technology.