What Is Software In Computer ?

What Is Software In Computer 

What Is Software In a Computer?

• Software is a set of electronic instructions that tells the computer how to do certain tasks. A set of instructions is often called a program.

• Software, which is abbreviated as SW or S/W, is a set of programs that enables the hardware to perform a specific task.

• When a computer is using a particular program, it is said to be running or executing the program.

• All the programs that run the computer are software.

• The software can be of three types: system software, application software, and programming software.

1. System Software:-

System software can be designed as software in such a way that it can control and work with computer hardware. It acts as an interface between the device and the end user.

• 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.

• The application programs are also controlled by system software.

• An operating system is an example of system software.

1. Operating System :

• Monitor

• Printer 

• Mouse

• Keyboard 

• Hard Drive

• Application

• The Operating System is a program with the following features -

• An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the software and the computer hardware.
• It is an integrated set of specialized programs used to manage the overall resources and operations of the computer.
• It is a specialized software that controls and monitors the execution of all other programs that reside in the computer, including application programs and other system software.
• As the name suggests, an operating system is a type of software without which you cannot operate or run a computer. It acts as an intermediary or translation system between computer hardware and application programs installed on the computer. In other words, you cannot directly use computer programs with computer hardware without having a medium to establish a connection between them.
• Besides this, it is also an intermediary between the computer user and the computer hardware as it provides a standard user interface that you see on your computer screen after you switch on your computer. For example, Windows and Mac OS are also operating systems that provide a graphical interface with icons and pictures to enable users to access multiple files and applications simultaneously.
• So, although the operating system is itself a program or software, it allows users to run other programs or applications on the system. We can say that it works behind the scenes to run your computer.
• It manages and coordinates the functioning of the hardware and software of the computer.
• The commonly used operating systems are Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OSX. 

• Objectives of Operating System:
•  The objectives of the operating system are −
• To make the computer system convenient to use efficiently.
• To hide the details of the hardware resources from the users.
•  To provide users a convenient interface to use the computer system.
•  To act as an intermediary between the hardware and its users, making it easier for the users to access and use other resources.
•  To manage the resources of a computer system.
• To keep track of who is using which resource, granting resource requests, and mediating conflicting requests from different programs and users. 
• To provide efficient and fair sharing of resources among users and programs.

• Characteristics of Operating System:
• Memory Management − Keeps track of the primary memory, i.e. what part of it is in use by whom, what part is not in use, etc., and allocates the memory when a process or program requests it.
• Processor Management − Allocates the processor (CPU) to a process and deallocates the processor when it is no longer required. 
• Device Management − Keeps track of all the devices. This is also called the I/O controller which decides which process gets the device, when, and for how much time.
• File Management − Allocates and de-allocates the resources and decides who gets the resources.
• Security − Prevents unauthorized access to programs and data using passwords and other similar techniques.
• Job Accounting − Keeps track of time and resources used by various jobs and/or users.
• Control Over System Performance − Records delays between the request for a service and from the system. 

Some other examples of system software include:

• BIOS: It stands for the basic input-output system. It is a type of system software, which is stored in Read Only Memory (ROM) located on the motherboard. However, in advanced computer systems, it is stored in flash memory. BIOS is the first software that gets activated when you turn on your computer system. It loads the drivers of the hard disk into memory as well as assists the operating system to load itself into the memory. 

• Boot Program: Boot refers to starting up a computer. When you switch on the computer, the commands in the ROM are executed automatically to load the boot program into memory and execute its instructions. The BIOS program has a basic set of commands that enables the computer to perform the basic input/output instructions to start the computer. 

• 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. The kernel of a Computer's CPU communicates with different hardware through this software. Operating systems generally come with most of the device drivers. If the operating system does not have a device driver for hardware, you have to install the device driver before using that hardware device. (ex: many graphics cards available windows does not know every G card, does not know windows how to perform how to work it, windows do not make additional software).

2. 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.

• A computer can run without application software. Application software can be easily installed or uninstalled as required. 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. Accordingly, they can be of different types such as:

• Word Processing Software: This software allows users to create, edit, format, and manipulate text and more. It offers lots of options for writing documents, creating images, and more. For example, MS Word, WordPad, Notepad, etc.
• 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, an intersection of a row and column, e.g., Microsoft Excel.
• 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, Windows Media Player, etc. 
• 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 systems, and more. 

• Bringing the Machine to Life - Applications

• Application Software consists of programs that tell a computer how to produce information
• Application software tells the computer how to accomplish tasks the user requires, such as creating a document or editing a graphic image.
• Some important kinds of application software are:

• Word processing programs
• Spreadsheet software
• Database management
• Presentation programs
• Graphics programs
• Networking software
• Web design tools and browsers 
• Internet applications
• Communications programs
• Utilities
• Entertainment and Education
• Multimedia authoring 

3. Programming Software: 

• It is a set or collection of tools that help developers in writing other software or programs.

• It assists them in creating, debugging, and maintaining software or programs or applications. We can say that these are facilitator software that helps translate programming languages such as Java, C++, Python, etc., into machine language code. So, it is not used by end-users. For example, compilers, linkers, debuggers, interpreters, text editors, etc. This software is also called a programming tool or software development tool.

• This type of software offers the user several tools for writing computer programs in different languages. Some basic tools used in the programming software are:

• Assemblers: An assembler translates a program written in assembly language into machine language and is effectively a compiler for the assembly language, but can also be used interactively like an interpreter. It is a low-level programming language. It helps in understanding the programming language of machine code. In a computer, there is an assembler that helps in converting the assembly code into machine code executable. It is designed to understand the instruction and provide machine language for further processing. It mainly depends on the architecture of the system whether it is the operating or computer architecture. It produces with the help of compiling high-level language source code like C, and C++.
• Compiler: A compiler is a computer program that helps you transform source code written in a high-level language into low-level machine language. It translates the code written in one programming language to some other language without changing the meaning of the code. The compiler also makes the end code efficient which is optimized for execution time.
• Interpreters: An interpreter is a computer program, which converts each high-level program statement into machine code. This includes source code, pre-compiled code, and scripts. Both compiler and interpreters do the same job, which is converting high-level programming language to machine code. However, a compiler will convert the code into machine code (create an exe) before the program run. Interpreters convert code into machine code when the program is run.

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