Definition Software

Software is a general term for the various kinds of programs used to operate computers and related devices. (The term hardware describes the physical aspects of computers and related devices.)

Software can be thought of as the variable part of a computer and hardware the invariable part. Software is often divided into application software (programs that do work users are directly interested in) and system software (which includes operating systems and any program that supports application software). The term middleware is sometimes used to describe programming that mediates between application and system software or between two different kinds of application software (for example, sending a remote work request from an application in a computer that has one kind of operating system to an application in a computer with a different operating system).

An additional and difficult-to-classify category of software is the utility, which is a small useful program with limited capability. Some utilities come with operating systems. Like applications, utilities tend to be separately installable and capable of being used independently from the rest of the operating system.

applets are small applications that sometimes come with the operating system as "accessories." They can also be created independently using the Java or other programming languages.

Software can be purchased or acquired as shareware (usually intended for sale after a trial period), liteware (shareware with some capabilities disabled), freeware (free software but with copyright restrictions), public domain software (free with no restrictions), and open sourcesource code is furnished and users agree not to limit the distribution of improvements). (software where the

Software is often packaged on CD-ROMs and diskettes. Today, much purchased software, shareware, and freeware is downloaded over the Internet. A new trend is software that is made available for use at another site known as an application service provider.

Some general kinds of application software include:

• Productivity software, which includes word processors, spreadsheets, and tools for use by most computer users
• Presentation software
• Graphics software for graphic designers
• CAD/CAM software
• Specialized scientific applications
• vertical market or industry-specific software (for example, for banking, insurance, retail, and manufacturing environments)

firmware or microcode is programming that is loaded into a special area on a microprocessor or read-only memory on a one-time or infrequent basis so that thereafter it seems to be part of the hardware.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Marianne Doig

What Is Software

Computer instructions or data. Anything that can be stored electronically is software. The storage devices and display devices are hardware.

The terms software and hardware are used as both nouns and adjectives. For example, you can say: "The problem lies in the software," meaning that there is a problem with the program or data, not with the computer itself. You can also say: "It's a software problem."

The distinction between software and hardware is sometimes confusing because they are so integrally linked. Clearly, when you purchase a program, you are buying software. But to buy the software, you need to buy the disk (hardware) on which the software is recorded.

Software is often divided into two categories:

systems software : Includes the operating system and all the utilities that enable the computer to function.

applications software : Includes programs that do real work for users. For example, word processors, spreadsheets, and database management systems fall under the category of applications software