Computer software is a
term used to describe a collection of programs, procedures and
documentation that perform a task on a computer system. Many
different elements in a computer system could be included in
this definition such as application programs that run
particular computer tasks, operating systems that act as the
environment inside a computer and other programs such as
middleware that co-ordinate and act as a medium between
different applications.
A day in
the life of a computer software engineer
Computer software is more easily defined
when it is used in contrast to the term computer hardware.
Hardware encompasses the physical devices and connections in a
computer system; the hard disks, motherboard, the CD ROM drive,
anything which actually has a material presence, anything that
you can touch. Computer software in comparison is the
untouchable, the virtual and information based structures that
work along side the hardware in order for a computer to perform
its functions. There are many different types of computer
software although the boundaries between these is sometimes
blurry. All existing computing software is often split up into
three categories for easier analysis.
Most people probably think of application software when they
hear the term computer software. These are the everyday
programs that a user will normally interact with in order to
accomplish their tasks. All computer users use applications in
one way of another, from word processors to email programs and
Internet browsers. Application programs are the kind of
software that people can recognise, they have an identifiable
objective and a little icon on their desktop that normally has
to be clicked before they can be run.
System software is another group and can include operating
systems, drivers and serverside systems. The third type is
known as programming software, it includes among other things
compilers and specialised text editors that are only really
relevant to someone who is writing a computer program. As I
said these distinctions can often be blurry and there are many
desktop applications that have been incorporated into operating
system designs.
Computer software is available for so many different things
that providing any kind of list is never going to be
comprehensive. However you can easily list the most popular
computer software on the market. Business is still the biggest
user of computer software and for this reason the Office
package by Microsoft is the best seller. Adobe Photoshop comes
in fairly near the top as well and is used in business for
design purposes. The major operating systems by Microsoft and
Apple are also very popular as well as some of the bigger names
in antivirus applications.
Computer software has to be loaded into a computer's storage
system in order to work. The software will then apply certain
instructions that will be executed and passed down the line to
the system software and eventually to the hardware. It is there
that these instructions are executed in machine code where the
solution then makes its way back up the software chain. The
computer program that passed these instructions will then
receive the results back and put them in a language that a
human user can understand and in an interface that they will be
able to comprehend.
