What is Computer Software? Definition, Types and Examples

In this article, we shall learn about computer software, its definition and different types of computer software.

What is Computer Software?

We perform different tasks and processes with the help of computers. In a computer, all these tasks and processes are performed with the help of computer software, which is stored in a memory device of a computer system.

Computer software is basically a set of computer programs which is designed for a specific purpose. A computer program is a set of computer instructions which are written using a computer programming language.

Computer software is of two types namely:

• System Software
• Application Software

What is System Software?

System software is a type of computer software that is designed to make the computer hardware functional. The system software operates, controls and extends the processing capabilities of a computer system.

The system software first exchanges the information with the user of the computer and then instructs the application software and computer hardware to perform the task. The system software helps the computer system to manage its internal resources. System software is not just a single software instead it is a set of different software components like operating system, device drivers, language processors, etc.

The instruction sets of the system software are written in low-level programming languages so that this software can interact with the computer hardware at a very basic level. The system software performs the following three important functions:

• The system software makes the hardware parts functional.
• The system software creates an interface between the machine and the user.
• The system software manages all the resources of the computer system.

Characteristics of System Software

The most important characteristics of the system software of a computer system are as:

• The system software is very difficult to design and understand.
• The system software is very close to the system hardware because it is written in low-level languages.
• The system software is very fast in speed.
• It is quite difficult to manipulate the system software.
• The system software is less interactive.
• The system software is comparatively smaller in size.

Important Components of System Software

(1). Operating System

An operating system is a type of system software or more specifically it is the most fundamental and important segment of system software of the computer. The operating system creates an interface between the hardware and the end user of the computer. It manages all the resources such as CPU, memory, input devices, output devices, etc. of the computer. It also provides the necessary services for controlling and monitoring the execution of other computer programs and software.

The major functions that an operating system of a computer performs are memory management, process management, file management, job scheduling, device management, security, etc. Depending on the interface created, the operating systems are classified into two types namely GUI (Graphical User Interface) Operating Systems and CLI (Command Line Interface) Operating Systems.

Some popular examples of computer operating systems are Windows operating system, Linux operating system, UNIX operating system, etc.

(2). Device Drivers

A device driver is a type of system software of a computer that operates, monitors and controls a specific hardware device attached to the computer system. The device driver basically provides the necessary information about a device attached to a computer to the operating system so that the operating system can effectively use it.

(3). Language Processor

The types of system software that are used for converting computer instructions and programs written in assembly and other high-level programming languages into low-level languages are known as language processors.

There are three main types of language processors available, which are given as follows:

• Assembler – A type of language processor which converts assembly-coded programs into machine language programs.
• Interpreter – A type of language processor which converts high-level language programs into machine-level language programs, but line by line.
• Compiler - A type of language processor which converts a high-level language program into a machine-level language program, and it converts the whole program at once.

What is Applications Software?

Application software is a type of computer software which is specially designed to perform a particular task. The application software is optimized to effectively perform the task for which they are designed.

The application software is mainly designed to use by the end users of a computer. At present, in computer and information technology, application software is also known as applications or apps. Most application software performs a single task, for example, video editing software is a type of application software that is designed for video editing and processing only.

Application software can consist of a single computer program or it can also be a collection of several computer programs. The collection of application programs is often called a software package and these programs work together to accomplish a specific task.

Characteristics of Application Software

The following are the important characteristics of the application software:

• The application software is close to the end user of the computer.
• The designing and understanding of application software are quite easy.
• The application software is more interactive than the system software.
• The speed of application software is slow.
• The manipulation and use of application software are easy.
• The application software requires a large space for storage.
• The application software is generally written in high-level computer programming languages.

Popular examples of application software are MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, database management systems (DBMS), payroll software, accounting software, inventory management systems, etc.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed computer software, its types and the characteristics of different types of computer software. From the above discussion, we can conclude that computer software is a set of computer programs where the computer program is in turn a set of computer instructions. Computer software is majorly classified into two types namely system software and application software.