As opposed to general-purpose applications which are widely used in nearly every discipline

As opposed to general-purpose applications which are widely used in nearly every discipline specialized applications are those applications which are focused for a more specified usage in specific disciplines as well as occupations. It includes thousands of programs which are used for this purpose. 

answer; vertical marketing system;

a recipe serves 8 people, and calls for 5 lbs of apples and 2 cups of flour. you want to prepare it for 24 people. divide 24 by 8 to get 3, and then multiply your ingredients by 3.

so for 24 people, you'll need 15 lbs of apples, and 6 cups of flour.