Computer software

Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. Program software performs the function of the program it implements, either by directly providing instructions to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. Data software exists solely for its eventual use by other program software.

The term software was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1957; colloquially, the term is often used to mean application software. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all information processed by computer system, programs and data.

Computer software is often contrasted with computer hardware, which is the physical substrate on which software exists.

For other uses of the word software see Software (disambiguation).

Software varieties

Any modern general purpose computer (as opposed to an embedded system) has a number of layers of software performing a variety of tasks. These are often divided into three major categories:

System software 

System software includes the basic input-output system (often described as firmware rather than software), device drivers, an operating system, and typically a graphical user interface which, in total, allow a user to interact with the computer and its peripherals (associated equipment). System software often comes bundled with the computer, and users may not realize that it exists.

Application software 

Application software allows a user to accomplish one or more specific tasks, like office suites and video games. Application software is often purchased separately. Applications are what most people think of when they think of software. Programming tools also are part of application software; because compilers, editors, and other tools are almost always independent of the operating system. Sometimes applications are shipped with a computer, but that does not change the fact that they are applications.

User software 

User software tailors systems to meet the users specific needs. User software include spreadsheet templates, word processor macros, scientific simulations, graphics and animation scripts. Even email filters are a kind of user software. Users create this software themselves and often overlook how important it is.

Software in operation

Computer software has to be "loaded" into the computer's storage (or memory).

Once the software is loaded, the computer is able to operate. Computers operate by executing the computer program. This involves passing instructions from the application software, through the system software, to the hardware which ultimately receives the instruction as machine code. Each instruction causes the computer to carry out an operation -- moving data, carrying out a computation, or altering the flow of instructions.

Kinds of software by operaion: computer program as executable, source code or script, data, configuration.

Software creation

Software is created with programming languages and related utilities, which may come in several of the above forms: single programs like script interpreters, packages containing a compiler, linker, and other tools; and large suites (often called Integrated Development Environments) that include editors, debuggers, and other tools for multiple languages.

• See also: Computer programming, Software engineering, Software architecture

Software patents

The issue of software patents is very controversial, since while patents protect the ideas of "inventors", they are widely believed to hinder software development.

Related articles

• Computing
• Computer programming
  • Programming languages
  • Text editors
  • Compilers
  • Algorithms
  • Color management
  • Software development process
  • Software development tools
  • Software maintenance
  • Software optimization
  • Application Programming Interface (API)
• Software engineering

• Software licenses
  • Open Source software
  • Software piracy
• Shovelware
• Freeware
• Postcardware
• Shareware
• Origins of computer terms
• Uninstaller

External links

• Software definition at Webopedia (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/s/software.html)
• Software definition at eLook Computing (http://www.elook.org/computing/software.htm)

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