SOFTWARE AND ITS TYPE
By definition, software (also abbreviated as an SW or S/W) is a collection of
data, programs, procedures, instructions, and documentation that perform
various predefined tasks on a computer system. It enables users to interact
with the computer.
Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined function. A
program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular problem. The software
in a computer system is any program, script, or application running on it. It
includes libraries, programs, and corresponding non-executable data, such as
digital media and online documentation.
The major types of software in computer systems are: System Software,
Application Software, Utility software and open source software
System Software
The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control, and extend
the processing capabilities of the computer itself. System software is generally prepared by
the computer manufacturers.
it is software to manage computer hardware behaviour to provide basic
functionalities to users.
The system software is the main software that runs the computer. When you turn on the
computer, it activates the hardware and controls and coordinates their functioning.
Features of most prominent system software are:
Close to the system
Fast in speed
Difficult to design
Difficult to understand
Less interactive
Smaller in size
Difficult to manipulate
Generally written in low-level language
Examples of system software are: operating systems, Programming language
translators and utility programs.
Operating System: This is a collection of software that handles resources and
provides general services for the other applications that run on a specific
system. An Operating System is a program that controls the execution of
application programs and acts as an interface between application and computer
hardware.
An operating system is the system software that works as an interface to enable the
user to communicate with the computer. It manages and coordinates the functioning
of hardware and software of the computer. The commonly used operating systems
are Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X
Programming Language Translator: An important function of the system software is
to convert all user instruction into machine understandable language. Therefore,
language translators are software that convert source program into its equivalent
machine code. There are three types of language translator namely: Assembler
converts assembly language into machine code or language. Interpreter convert high
level programs into its equivalent machine code line by line, and compiler convert
high level programs into its equivalent machine code at one go rather than line by
line.
Utility software is designed to aid in analysing, optimizing, configuring, and
maintaining a computer system. It supports the computer infrastructure. They
focus on how an OS functions and then accordingly decide their trajectory to
smoothen the system's functioning. Examples of utility software are
Antiviruses, disk clean up & management tools, compression tools,
defragmenters.
A device driver: This system software controls hardware devices connected to a
computer. It enables the computer to use the hardware by providing an appropriate
interface.. There are two types of device drivers which include kernel device driver
and user device deriver. BIOS Driver,Display Drivers,Motherboard Drivers,Printer
Drivers,ROM Drivers,Sound card Driver
USB Drivers
USB Drivers
VGA Drivers
VGA Drivers
Virtual Device Drivers
Application Software
Application software is a set of programs designed to perform a specific task. It
does not control the working of a computer as it is designed for end-users. It can be
a single program or a collection of small programs. Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe
Photoshop, and any other software like payroll software or income tax software are
application software. As we know, they are designed to perform specific tasks.
Application software may consist of a single program, such as Microsoft's notepad
for writing and editing a simple text. It may also consist of a collection of programs,
often called a software package, which work together to accomplish a task, such as
a spreadsheet package
Types of Application Software
Word Processing Software: This software allows users to create, edit, format, and
manipulate the text and more. It offers lots of options for writing documents,
creating images, and more. For example, MS Word,. Corel WordPerfect, Google
Docs
Spreadsheet Software: It is designed to perform calculations, store data, create
charts, etc. It has rows and columns, and the data is entered in the cell, which is an
intersection of a row and column, e.g., Microsoft Excel.
Database Software
A database management system is an application software to create and
manage databases. They help with the organization of data. Some examples of
DBMS are: Clipper, dBase, FileMaker, FoxPro, MS Access and MySQL
Multimedia Software: This software is developed to perform editing of video, audio,
and text. It allows you to combine texts, videos, audio, and images. Thus, you can
improve a text document by adding photos, animations, graphics, and charts through
multimedia software. For example, VLC player, Window Media Player, etc. Adobe
Photoshop, Inkscape, Media Monkey, Picasa and Windows Movie Maker
Enterprise Software: This software is developed for business operational functions.
It is used in large organizations where the quantum of business is too large. It can be
used for accounting, billing, order processing and more. For example, CRM
(Customer Relationship Management), BI (Business Intelligence), ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management), customer support
Other types of application software are graphic software, web browsers, education
and reference as well as presentation software.
The Features of application software includes: closeness to the user, easy to design,
more interactive, slow in speed, generally written in high-level language, easy to
understand, easy to manipulate and use, bigger in size and requires large storage
space.
Open source software: These kinds of software are available to users with the
source code, which means that a user can freely distribute and modify the
software and add additional features to the software. Open-Source software
can either be free or chargeable. Some examples of open-source software are:
Apache Web Server, GNU Compiler Collection, Moodle, Mozilla Firefox and
Thunderbird
