INTRODUCTION TO SOFTWARE

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Instruction:- Instruction is a collection of alphabet, number and special symbol.

Program:- Program is a collection of instructions.

Software:- Software is a collection of program.

Computer software is a collection of data or computer instructions that tell the computer how to work. This is in contrast to physical hardware from which the system is built and actually performs the work. 

In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all information processed by computer systems, programs and data. 

Computer software includes computer programs, libraries and related non-executable data such as online documentation or digital media. Computer hardware and software require each other and neither can be used on its own.

Computer software is a kind of programs that enable a user to perform some specific task or used to operate a computer. It directs all the peripheral devices on computer system-what to do and how to perform a task. 

PC Software plays a role of mediator between user and computer hardware. Without Software, a user can’t perform any task in digital computer. 

A computer system can be divided into three components: 

1. Hardware

2. Software and 

3. Users 

Example of Software:
Windows Operating System
Skype Software
Video Chat Software
Web Browser Software-Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer Software
Google Drive File Stream
Game Application
Windows Defender
Antivirus
Adobe Acrobat PDF reader, Adobe Flash Player
Multimedia Software
Oracle Java JRE
E-learning Tool
Computer-Aided Design
Driver Software
Database software
Inventory Management System.  Office Professional Plus 2016-(Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One-Note, Publisher, Project, MS-Access)

Type of Software:-

Software can be further divide into mainly two parts: Application software and System Software. Bare use of hardware is not easy, so to make it easy software is created.

There are two types of software-
1. Application Software
 and
2. System Software.

1. Application Software:

 Applications software also called end-user programs or an app. It is resides above system software. Applications software is used by end user for specific purpose.  

It is a programmed for simple as well as complex tasks. It either be installed or access online. It can be a single program or a group of small programs that is referred to as an application suite.

Application software can be used by user to complete Specific tasks, such as creating word processors documents, spreadsheets, Presentation, Graphics, CAD/CAM, sending email etc.

 

 Application software is also known as end-user software as this software used by end users to complete their task. These are some types of software which we can use in our computer for work. Also if you are creating your own software you can easily Sell software online on e commerce websites.

There are two types of application software as follows–

1. General Purpose Software OR Basic Application software

2. Specific Purpose Software OR Specialized Application Software

1. General Purpose Software OR Basic Application Software:-General purpose software is software that can be used for a variety of tasks.

General purpose software includes office applications, such as presentation software and word processing software. Because general purpose software can be used for a number of different tasks,

General-purpose application software is software used to perform a broad variety of tasks and is useful to nearly all computer users, such as word processing, graphics editing and spreadsheet applications. In contrast, other types of software applications are used to perform specific tasks, such as accounting or contact management, or they are used in a particular industry, such as stock trading or library management.

Examples :

Word Processing Application

Spreadsheet Application

Database Application

Desktop Publishing Application

Presentation Software 

Graphics Application 

Web Design Application 

2. Specific Purpose Software OR Specialized Application Software: Special application software are created to satisfy specific needs of an organization. are hired to create such software. The cost of such In this case software engineers software depends upon the extent of work automated through software. 

Example:-Web browsers, Calculators, Media players, Calendar, Payroll Software, Inventory Control Software, Railway Reservation Software etc. 

System Software:-

System software directly interact to hardware part of computer or machine. System Software (type of computer program) provides a platform to run computer’s hardware and computer application to utilize system resources and solve their computation problem.  

It is written in a low-level language, like assembly language so it can easily interact with hardware with basic level. It control working of peripheral devices. 

System software act as a scheduler for the execution of the processes and arrange the sequence according to their priority and I/O devices requirement and creation of process. The best-known example of system software is the operating system (OS). It responsible to manages all the other programs in a computer.

Operating system creates an interface between user and hardware and also in application software and hardware. examples of software are Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 7  and Windows 10.  

Generally user does not interact with the System Software directly.  The user interacts with the GUI created by System Software. Through this GUI user interact with applications installed in system.

There are four types of system software as follow.
  a) Operating System
 b) Utilities
 c) Device drivers
 d) Language translators.

1. Operating System :-An operating system (OS) is a type of system software that manages computer’s hardware and software resources. It provides common services for computer programs. An OS acts a link between the software and the hardware. It controls and keeps a record of the execution of all other programs that are present in the computer, including application programs and other system software.

2. Utility Program:-Usually utility software installed during installation of OS. Utility program help in analyze, configure, secure, optimize and maintain the system. List of utility program-Disk checker, disk cleaner, disk defragmenter, disk space analyzer, disk backup etc.  

It is a system software that performs a specific task which mainly related to the managements of computer. It is same like tool-kit. Some utilities help you backup data, some help remove outdated files or recover data that has been erased by mistake.

Some important utilities are as followed-

Text Editor

Backup Utility program

Compression Utility

Disk Defragmenter

Antivirus Software

3. Language Translator-It translate programming code into the machine code. So, that computer can understand it and can process further. Computer converts the High Level Language into Machine Language (binary language i.e, 0 and 1). The language processors are given below-

Assembler

Interpreter

Compiler 

4. Device Driver-A device driver is a software program that controls a particular types of (or) specific type of hardware.

Examples: Sound card driver, video card driver, etc.

Operating System:-

An operating system (OS) is a type of system software that manages computer’s hardware and software resources. It provides common services for computer programs. An OS acts a link between the software and the hardware. It controls and keeps a record of the execution of all other programs that are present in the computer, including application programs and other system software.

The most important tasks performed by the operating system are:-

1. Memory Management:- The OS keeps track of the primary memory and allocates the memory when a process requests it.

2. Processor Management:- Allocates the main memory (RAM) to a process and de-allocates it when it is no longer required.

3. File Management:- Allocates and de-allocates the resources and decides who gets the resources.

4. Security:- Prevents unauthorized access to programs and data by means of passwords.

5. Error-Detecting Aids:- Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and other debugging and error-detecting methods.

6. Scheduling:- The OS schedules process through its scheduling algorithms.