Computer Software Part 1

 

Computer Software

Every day, we come across different types of computer software that helps us with our tasks and increase our efficiency. From MS Windows that greets us when we switch on the system to the web browser that is used to surf the internet or the games that we play on our computer to the calorie burn counter on our smartphone, are all examples of software. In this world of technology, we even come across various software development trends that help our business to grow, we are surrounded by all these software which are determined to make our lives easier. By definition, a Software (also abbreviated as an SW or S/W) is a collection of data, programs, procedures, instructions, and documentation that perform various predefined tasks on a computer system. They enable users to interact with the computer.


1. System Software

In case of a system software, it helps the user as well as the hardware to function and even interact with each other easily. Essentially, it is a software which is used to manage the behavior of the computer hardware in order to offer basic functionalities which are needed by the user. In simpler word, it can be said that system software is essentially an intermediator or even a middle layer between the user as well as the hardware. Sign up for our exclusive newsletters. Subscribe to check out our popular newsletters. These software sanction an environment or platform for the other software to easily work in. Hence, it is the reason why the system software is quite important in the management of the entire computer system. Whenever you turn on the computer first, it is this system software which gets initialized and then gets loaded in the system’s memory. A system software essentially runs in the background, and it isn’t actually utilized by the end-users. Due to this reason, the system software is also known popularly as “low-level software”. Companies usually hire the best software development company to build a system software.  Few of the common system software examples are:


a. Operating System


It is the most prominent example of System Software. It is a collection of software that handles resources and provides general services for the other applications that run over them. Although each Operating System is different, most of them provide a Graphical User Interface through which a user can manage the files and folders and perform other tasks. Every device, whether a desktop, laptop or mobile phone requires an operating system to provide the basic functionality to it. As an OS essentially determines how a user interacts with the system, therefore many users prefer to use one specific OS for their device. There are various types of operating system such as real-time, embedded, distributed, multiuser, single-user, internet, mobile, and many more. It is important to consider the hardware specifications before choosing an operating system. Some examples of Operating systems given below:

Android

CentOS

iOS

Linux

Mac OS

MS Windows

Ubuntu




b. Device Drivers

This type of software controls particular hardware which is essentially attached to the system. Different hardware devices which require a driver to connect to a system easily consist of displays, printers, sound cards, hard disks, keyboard, and mice. Few of the examples of such drivers are:

# BIOS Driver

# Display Drivers

# Motherboard Drivers

# Printer Drivers

# ROM Drivers

# Sound card Driver

# USB Drivers

# USB Drivers

# VGA Drivers

 



c. Firmware

It is actually a permanent software which is embedded in the system’s read-only memory. It is essentially a set of instructions which are permanently stored onto to the hardware device.
It is a set of instructions permanently stored on a hardware device. It provides essential information regarding how the device interacts with other hardware. Firmware can be considered as ‘semi-permanent’ as it remains permanent unless it is updated using a firmware updater. Some examples of firmware are:

# BIOS

# Computer Peripherals

# Consumer Applications

# Embedded Systems

# UEFI


d. Utility

Utility software is designed to aid in analyzing, optimizing, configuring and maintaining a computer system. It supports the computer infrastructure. It provides support to the computer infrastructure. Software like disk cleanup and management tools, anti-viruses, defragmenters, compression tools etc. are all utility software. Some of its examples are:
Norton Antivirus 

McAfee Antivirus 

WinRAR 

WinZip 

Piriform CCleaner  And Many More.



2. Application Software 

* The other category of software is application software that is designed for the users to perform some specific tasks like writing a letter, listening to music or seeing any video. For all these requirements there required a specific software for each type and that specific software that is designed for some specific purpose is known as application software. The operating software runs the application software in the computer system.


* The difference between system software and application software is the difference in the user interface. In system software, there is no user interface present whereas in application software the user interface is present for each software so that users can easily use the software. The user cannot see the system software like an operating system and cannot work in system software but in an application, software users can see the application software using a graphical user interface and can also work in the application software. The user also has an option to create its user-written software and use the software for its personal use.


* The templates are present which can be used by the user to create user-written programs. The application software can be bundled together and that bundle is known as an application suite. An example of an application suite is Microsoft Office. The word processor software is designed by combining various small program to make one single program which can be used for writing text, creating a spreadsheet or creating presentations. The other type of application software is Mozilla Firefox, internet explorer. These kinds of application software can be used for searching any article, text on the web and interact with the outside world.

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