Reference Apps

Definition

Looking up a constant, a statute, or a word should not require an account to read one page. Reference apps are dictionaries, unit tables, field manuals, and offline encyclopaedias. Education is a course; Books is a narrative; News is today's edition. The test is whether the entry cites something and whether the pack downloads. User-edited wikis go stale in public. If the app is a thin wrapper around a website, it will fail in a basement. Revision dates on an entry are part of the answer.

Common tasks

Look up a word, unit or statute without opening a browser
Download a pack for a field trip or a flight
Cite a source or a revision date on an entry
Search inside a manual you already paid for

Common constraints

User-edited entries go stale
Legal and medical texts may be incomplete for your region
Website wrappers die offline

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Coverage

0 apps · Data checked 2026-09-06

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Example prompt

Find the best current iPhone apps in this category.

View JSON

GET /api/v3/categories/reference

{
  "resource": "category",
  "url": "https://appcorpus.com/api/v3/categories/reference",
  "canonical_url": "https://appcorpus.com/categories/reference",
  "category_id": "reference",
  "label": "Reference",
  "definition": "Looking up a constant, a statute, or a word should not require an account to read one page. Reference apps are dictionaries, unit tables, field manuals, and offline encyclopaedias. Education is a course; Books is a narrative; News is today's edition. The test is whether the entry cites something and whether the pack downloads. User-edited wikis go stale in public. If the app is a thin wrapper around a website, it will fail in a basement. Revision dates on an entry are part of the answer.",
  "app_count": 0,
  "top_apps": []
}