Prototype

Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative attributes of a category. A prototype is the stage before the final design. They are the best examples among the members of a category and serve as benchmarks against which the surrounding "poorer" instances are categorized (see Prototype (linguistics)). See also: Categorization, Semantics

Mechanical and Electrical Engineering

The most common use of the word prototype is a functional though experimental version of a nonmilitary machine (e.g., cars, domestic appliances, consumer electronics) whose designers would like to have built by mass production means, as opposed to a mockup, which is an inert representation of a machine's appearance, often made of some non-durable substance.

The Japanese use of the term differs from the American in that their prototypes have all sorts of features which are unlikely to be included in the finished product (this is how the word is used in Gundam), while American prototypes would stand for development for marketing and practicability.

The fields of military machines and aviation rather use the terms "experimental" and "service test".

Software Engineering

In Software Engineering, a prototype generally refers to software in a development stage, focusing on a subset of the total requirements for a product. Prototypes are usually intended to evolve into the final design. Project managers may formally identify a software component as prototypes to communicate with stakeholders that the component may or may not comprise the techniques ultimately allocated to the product design, or to meet business objectives. It should not be assumed that the prototype is merely for testing concepts. (That would be an aspect of a "research" project.) Prototypes provide the software developers with a "working model" for demonstration or use by customers, quality-assurance, business analysts, and managers to confirm or make changes to requirements, help define interfaces, develop collaborating components, and to provide proof of incremental achievement of scheduled contractual agreements. Software prototypes serve any and all of these purposes in practice.

Computer science

In computer science, a function prototype is the declaration of a subroutine or function. However, in prototype-based programming (in the context of object-oriented programming), a prototype is an object that can be cloned in order to produce new objects.

Model railroads

Among model railroad enthusiasts, at least in North America, actual railroads are commonly spoken of as "prototypes".

Scale Modeling In General

In the field of scale modeling (which includes model railroading, vehicle modeling, airplane modeling, military modeling, etc.), a prototype is the real-world basis or source for a scale model - such as the real EMD GP38-2 locomotive, which is the prototype of Athearn's (among other manufacturers) locomotive model. Technically, any non-living object can serve as a prototype for a model, including structures, equipment and appliances, natural wonders (like trees), and so on, but generally prototypes have come to mean full-size real-world vehicles including automobiles (the prototype 1957 Chevy has spawned many models), military equipment (like M4 Shermans, a favorite among US Military modelers), railroad equipment, motor trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, and space-ships (real-world like Apollo/Saturn Vs, or the ISS). There is debate whether 'fictional' items can be considered prototypes (like Star Wars or Star Trek starships, since the feature ships themselves are actually models or CGI-artifacts); however humans and other living items are never called prototypes, even when they are the basis for models and dolls (especially - action figures).

Automobile racing

Cars from the premier tier of international sports car racing are informally called 'Prototypes'. Unlike GT cars, which are road-legal cars modified for racing, Prototypes are designed purely for track use. The overall winners of multi-class events like Le Mans are usually Prototypes. Examples of Prototypes include the Porsche 917 and Audi R8.