1.

Application  Application software is a software Types of Application Software and

Software program or group of programs Examples:
designed for end-users. There are  Word Processing Software
many types of application software. Google Docs, Microsoft Word,
WordPad and Notepad
 Database Software
MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server,
Microsoft Access, Oracle, IBM DB2
and FoxPro
 Spreadsheet Software
Google Sheets, Apple Numbers and
Microsoft Excel
 Multimedia Software
Media Player, Winamp, QuickTime
and VLC Media Player
 Presentation Software
Google Slides, Microsoft Powerpoint,
Keynotes, Prezzy
 Enterprise Software
customer relationship management
(CRM) software (HubSpot, Microsoft
Dynamic 365)), project management
tools (Jira, Monday), marketing
automation tools (Marketo,
HubSpot), enterprise resource
planning (ERP) software (SAGE,
Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics), treasury
management system (TMS) software
(SAP S/4HANA Finance, Oracle
Treasury), business intelligence (BI)
software (SAP Business Intelligence,
MicroStrategy, Microsoft Power BI)
 Information Worker Software
Documentation tools, resource
management tools
 Communication Software:
Zoom, Google Meet, Skype
 Educational Software
Dictionaries – Encarta, Britannica;
Mathematical: MATLAB; Others:
Google Earth, NASA World Wind
 Simulation Software
Flight and scientific simulators
 Content Access Software
Accessing content through media
players, web browsers

 Application Suites
Apache OpenOffice, Microsoft
 Office365, Apple’s iWork, LibreOffice,
G-Suite, Oracle E-Business Suite
 Software for Engineering and
Product Development:
IDE or Integrated Development
Environments
 Email Software:
Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail
2. System  System software provides a Examples of System Software:
Software platform for other software and  Operating systems
includes the programs managing macOS, Linux, Android, and Microsoft
the computer itself, such as the Windows.
computer’s operating system, file  Search Engines
management utilities and disk Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu etc.
operating system.  Game engines
 The system’s files consist of libraries Unity, Unreal Engine, Amazon
of functions, system services, Lumberyard, Cry engine etc.
drivers for printers and other  Industrial automation
hardware, system preferences and Packaging and material handling.
other configuration files. Quality control and inspection.
 The programs in system software  Computational Science Software
encompass assemblers, compilers,
file management tools, system
utilities and debuggers.
3. Firmware  Firmware is software that’s stored Typical examples of devices
on a computer’s motherboard or containing firmware:
chipset.  embedded systems (such as traffic
 Its job is to ensure the device works lights, consumer appliances, and
directly. When you switch on your digital watches), computers,
laptop, the Basic Input Output computer peripherals, mobile
System (BIOS) wakes everything up. phones, and digital cameras.
 It checks the drive for errors then
queries if the operating system is
present. If so, it then turns control
over to the likes of Windows 10.
4. Programming  Programming software, also known Examples of Programming
Software as a programming tool or software Software:
development tool, is a program that  Compilers
assists software developers or C, C++, C#, Java etc.
programmers with creating,  Assemblers
debugging, and maintaining other NASM, GNU Assembler, FASM, YASM
programs and applications. etc.
 Programming software is  Debuggers
considered as a subset of system Arm DTT, formerly known as Allinea
software, although there is debate DDT.
regarding this. Eclipse debugger API used in a range
of IDEs: Eclipse IDE (Java) Nodeclipse
(JavaScript)
Firefox JavaScript debugger.
 GDB – the GNU debugger.
LLDB.
 Interpreters
Perl, Python and Matlab.
More examples:
GitHub, GitLab, Android Studio, Visual
Studio Code, Eclipse, XCode, Notepad++,
Atom.
5. Driver  Driver software communicates with Examples of Driver Software:
Software hardware and control devices and  All hardware devices require drivers.
peripherals attached to a computer. Ethernet Driver, Graphics Card Driver,
 It does this by gathering input from CPU Driver, Sound Card Driver, WIFI
the OS (operating system) and Driver, Management Engine Driver,
giving instructions to the hardware Disk Driver and more.
to perform an action or other
designated task.

6. Freeware  Freeware sounds like free software Examples of Freeware:

or open-source software but there’s  Microsoft OneDrive
a difference.  Mozilla Firefox
 Freeware software does not expose  Windows Storage Sense
or share its source code. Yet the  Ultra Defrag
software owner does not charge  Skype
others to use it.  Gmail
 Freeware licenses vary as to what  Adobe Photoshop Express
the software can be used for and  Google Earth and more.
who can share it.
 Some developers only allow their
freeware for private or personal
use. Businesses need a paid license
or get written permission.
7. Shareware  shareware is free to use and share Example of Shareware:
with others, but only for a short  A64 (emulator)
time.  A86 (software)
 It acts as an evaluation. You can try  AdGuard
some or all the features before  Adobe Photoshop Elements.
committing to a purchase.  Adobe Prelude
 Advanced System Optimizer
 The Adventures of Captain Comic
 Argentum Backup
8. Open Source  Computer software that is released Examples of Open Source Software:
Software under a license in which the  Mozilla Firefox. [Image source:
 copyright holder grants users the Mozilla Firefox]
rights to use, study, change, and  LibreOffice. [Image source:
distribute the software and its LibreOffice]
source code to anyone and for any  GIMP. [Image source: GIMP]
purpose.  VLC Media Player. [Image source:
 Open-source software may be VLC Media Player]
developed in a collaborative public  Linux. [Image source: Linux]
manner. Open-source software is a  Blender. [Image source: Blender]
prominent example of open  GNU Compiler Collection
collaboration, meaning any capable  Python.
user can participate online in
development, making the number
of possible contributor’s indefinite.
9. Closed  Most applications are closed source Example of Closed Source
Source in that they do not expose the Software:
original code.
Software  Skype
 Licenses are stringent.  Google earth
Unauthorized copying or cracking is  Java
allowed. The app can be  Adobe Flash
commercial or private, but it
 Virtual Box
requires payment of some kind to
 Adobe Reader
use.
 Microsoft office
 Microsoft Windows
 WinRAR
 mac OS
 Adobe Flash Player etc.
10.Utility  Utility software is designed to Example of Utility Software:
Software analyze and optimize a device.  Antivirus.
 These apps are usually bundled  File Management System.
with an OS. They track performance  Disk Management tools.
and alert the system if there’s a  Compression tools.
problem like overheating.  Disk cleanup tool.
 File Management System.
 Disk Defragmenter.
 Backup utility.