What does POCO mean? [duplicate]

I have seen many articles about POCO. What is this?


Plain old CLR object


Based in the language you want to choose POCO means

Plain Old CLR Object

as Wikipedia mention or,

Plain Old C++ Object

as the PocoCapsule mentions it or,

POrtable COmponents

as the POCO Project mentions it.

For what I'm concerned and for the reason of this question, and of course in simple words, it's a C++ library. :)

The POCO C++ Libraries aim to be for network-centric, cross-platform C++ software development what Apple's Cocoa is for Mac development, or Ruby on Rails is for Web development — a powerful, yet easy to use platform to build your applications upon.

The POCO C++ Libraries are built strictly on standard ANSI/ISO C++, including the standard library. The developers of the POCO C++ Libraries attempt to find a good balance between using advanced C++ features and keeping the classes comprehensible and the code clean, consistent and easy to maintain.


The POCO C++ Libraries (POCO stands for POrtable COmponents) are open source C++ class libraries that simplify and accelerate the development of network-centric, portable applications in C++. The libraries integrate perfectly with the C++ Standard Library and fill many of the functional gaps left open by it. Their modular and efficient design and implementation makes the POCO C++ Libraries extremely well suited for embedded development, an area where the C++ programming language is becoming increasingly popular, due to its suitability for both low-level (device I/O, interrupt handlers, etc.) and high-level object-oriented development. Of course, the POCO C++ Libraries are also ready for enterprise-level challenges.

The POCO C++ Libraries free developers from re-inventing the wheel, and allow them to spend their time on more worthwhile areas, such as getting things done quickly and working on the features that make their application unique.

Source and More Information


If you are talking .NET:

POCO = Plain Old Class (or CLR) Object

Please See: POCO vs DTO


Acronyms like this usually stand for "Plain Old..." such as POX meaning Plain Old XML.

I would therefore guess that POCO was either Plain Old C Object, or Plain Old Class Object or some derivative. It would help if I knew the context (such as the programming language you are using).