What is Software? – An Introduction

My cousin is a software engineer. I need to update my software?! The new software update is crashing! The Software Industry is ever-expanding!

The word software is so common, that it gets thrown around like nothing. We often complain about the ‘software’, but have you ever wondered what it actually does and what it means? If you have then you are in the right place!!!

Software

First, let’s look at what software is: In simple terms, a software tells computer how to work, as opposed to hardware which performs the work.

In our daily life, software usually refers to applications, scripts and programs that run on a device.

Let’s look at how software is defined:

Software is a set of instructions, data or programs used to operate computers and execute specific tasks.

Where is software stored?

Typically softwares are stored on an external long-term memory device like a hard drive or magnetic diskette. When a program is used from a software it is temporarily placed on random access memory (RAM). The storing and performing of instructions by a software is called running and executing of a software respectively.

But, permanent softwares use read-only(ROM) technology to store softwares. These softwares are called firmware or “hard software”.

Types of software

1. Application Software : It refers to user-downloaded programs on a device. Examples:
   • Office Suites ( Microsoft Office )
   • Database programs ( Oracle RDBMS )
   • Web Browsers ( Google Chrome )
   • Word Processors ( Google Docs )
   • Software development tools ( Buddy, Headspin, Linux )
   • Image Editors ( Adobe Photoshop )
   • Communication platforms (Dropbox, Skype )
2. System Software : It includes operating systems and any programs that support application softwares. MacOS, Windows XP and GNU are some of the examples.

Related Terms

• Middleware : It is described as programming between application software and system software or two different application softwares.
• Utilities : Small, useful programs with limited capabilities are called utilities. They as re seperately installable and capable of being used independently from the rest of the operating system.
• Network Software : A software that coordinates communication between two computers linked in a network.

Computer Science VS Software Engineering

The terms computer science and software engineering are often used interchangeably and often thought of as the same terms. Let’s see the difference between these confusingly similar fields:

• Computer Science : It is the field of computing. Computer Science mainly involves the the study, implementation and analysis of algorithms.
• Software Engineering : It focuses on applying structured engineering principles to the development of software.

What Next

This post is an explanation of what exactly is Software in simple terms. If you find this interesting, I hope you will continue your research regarding this topic and you may even pursue a career in Software Engineering. Do read on for more interesting articles.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Please share your views in the comments section. Don’t forget to follow my blog. 🙂

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