Types of Software

Software

Software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer. In other words, software is a set ofprograms, procedures, algorithms and its documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. Program software performs the function of the program it implements, either by directly providing instructions to the digital electronics or by serving as input to another piece of software.

Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application softwareonly. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records.

Software - A set of instructions, stored digitally within the computer's memory, which tells the computer system what to do.

Types of Software

• System software is the basic software needed for a computer to operate (most notably the operating system).
• Application software is all the software that uses the computer system to perform useful work beyond the operation of the computer itself.

System software

System software is computer software designed to operate the computer hardware, to provide basic functionality, and to provide a platform for running application software.System software includes device drivers, operating systems, servers, utilities, and window systems.

System software is responsible for managing a variety of independent hardware components, so that they can work together harmoniously. Its purpose is to unburden the application software programmer from the often complex details of the particular computer being used, including such accessories as communications devices, printers, device readers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer's resources such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable manner.

Application Software:

 Application Software is a set of programs to carry out operations for a specific application. For example, payroll is an application software for an organization to produce pay slips as an output. Application software is useful for word processing, billing system, accounting, producing statistical report, analysis of numerous data in research, weather forecasting, etc. In later modules you will learn about MS WORD, Lotus 1-2-3 and dBASE III Plus. All these are application softwares.

Another example of application software is programming language. Among the programming languages COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) is more suitable for business application whereas FORTRAN (Formula Translation) is useful for scientific application. We will discuss about languages in next section.