Software

What is software?

•         unlike hardware it can’t be physically touched

•         it’s the missing link between the computer hardware and the data which it is processing

•         has to be “loaded” into the computer’s RAM before it can be “run”

•         a set of pre-written instructions which the computer executes in order to perform a particular task

 Systems Software

This type of software helps run and organize the computers hareware.

It includes a number of common features

•Operating System (OS)

•Device drivers

•File Managers

•Graphical ser Interface (GUI) and/or

•Command Line Interface (CLI)

•System utilities (eg diagnostic tools)

Applications software

 Application software is a subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user wishes to perform.Computer Software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. In other words, software is a conceptual entity which is a set of computer programs, procedures, and associated documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. We can also say software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. In other words software is a set of programs, procedures and its documentation.

 Office Applications

Word Processing

Of all computer applications, word processing is the most common. To perform word processing, you need a computer, a special program called a word processor, and a printer. A word processor enables you to create a document, store it electronically on a disk, display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the keyboard, and print it on a printer.

Spreadsheets

Games Software

Utilities

The great advantage of word processing over using a typewriter is that you can make changes without retyping the entire document. If you make a typing mistake, you simply back up the cursor and correct your mistake. If you want to delete a paragraph, you simply remove it, without leaving a trace. It is equally easy to insert a word, sentence, or paragraph in the middle of a document. Word processors also make it easy to move sections of text from one place to another within a document, or between documents. When you have made all the changes you want, you can send the file to a printer to get a hardcopy.

•Office software (eg Word-processor, Spreadsheet, Database etc)

•Educational software (eg CAL – Computer Aided Learning)

•Business & Industrial software (eg CAD – Computer Aided Design)

•Communication software (eg e-mail, chat programs etc)

•Games

•Specical (eg Speech recognition, route planners etc).