An introduction to computer software

Jan 10, 2012 by

Software is nothing but a set of instruction which has one or more programs that is used to control the operation of computer and its hardware. It is time that I tell you that a computer is nothing without software. A computer cannot perform without instruction from user and software kind of acts as a mediator between computer hardware and the user. At this point I would like to define program which is nothing but a set of instruction that is used to perform a specific task. And collection of such programs to control the computer is called software. By now you should have guessed the importance of software in a computer.
Software is the thing that makes computer so valuable and important. Without software computer is only a collection of solid parts without any use. Computer without software is like machine without an operator. The Firefox or internet explorer or chrome whatever you are using, is software that allows you to browse the internet. The very OS (operating system) that you are using is software called system software.
Now, it’s time to learn about the types of software. Software can be broadly classified into two categories which are given below

1.    System Software
2.    Application software

1.    System software: System software is software that controls organizes and utilizes the hardware present in a computer. System software is the essential part of a computer software system. It acts as a medium which deals with the complexities of interaction with the hardware and provides easy way for users to perform task. System software consists of mainly four types of programs Operating System Software, Utility software, device driver software and language translators. We will learn more about this software later.

2.    Application software: Application software is a program that is designed to perform a specific task. Take Microsoft office Word as an example. MS Word is used for word processing and it has been designed to do so efficiently. The main objective of application software is to make most of the work automated and reduce the time consumption. Another main feature of application software design is to make information more easily available which increases the efficiency of the work. There is possibly thousand of application software available in the market.

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