Third-party software component

In computer programming, a third-party software component is a reusable software component developed to be either freely distributed or sold by an entity other than the original vendor of the development platform. The third-party software component market thrives because many programmers believe that component-oriented development improves the efficiency and the quality of developing custom applications. Common third-party software includes macros, bots, and software/scripts to be run as add-ons for popular developing software.^[1] In the case of operating systems such as Windows XP, Vista or Seven, there are applications installed by default, such as Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer.