What Is Software?
When software was first coined, it was coined as a reference to the word “hardware," a word used for physical devices of technology. Hardware differs from software in that it is the physical devices in a computer you can touch and build. This would include the monitor, keyboard, mouse, hard drive, processor, DVD drive, and anything else that is a physical component of a computer. Software then is anything else in a computer or elsewhere that consists of stored data.
The common definition of software refers to computer software. At the lowest level this is executable computer code consisting of a machine language comprised of groups of binary values.
Ordered sets of instructions in the form of programs are designed using programming languages which allow the translation of machine language into a more manageable form similar to a human language.
These programs give instructions to the computer to perform various tasks. The word software in this sense was first published by John W. Turkey in 1958 after being created by Paul Niquette in 1953.
Modern Software Theory
The theory behind the implementation of modern software is based on an idea proposed by Alan Turing in 1935. Turing was a mathematician and logician who during the Second World War worked for Great Britain’s code breaking team.
His concept of the Turing Machine proposed in his famous work on Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem is a major influence on the creation of computers as well as in artificial intelligence.
Major Types of Computer Software
The three major types of computer software are:
- System software
- Programming software
- Application software
Device drivers, operating systems, utilities and servers are all examples of computer software.
System Software
The purpose of this type of software is to run the hardware and accessory devices of the computer such as the monitor and the keyboard. In addition system software manages the memory and the processor of the computer so that it runs in a stable fashion. By doing this, system software frees the user from having to see the background functions which a computer must do in order to keep running.
Microsoft Windows is a very well recognized system software that propelled Bill Gates to be one of the richest men in the world.
Programming Software
Programming software provides the tools to help a programmer create a program. This includes:
- Compilers
- Debuggers
- Interpreters
- Text editors
This type of software allows the creation of new programs and other types of software.
Application Software
Finally, the narrowest definition of software is application software. This allows the user to complete a task that is not necessarily devoted to the proper functioning of the computer.
This type of software includes all of the programs people use on a daily basis on a computer such as:
- Word processors
- Calculators
- Games
- Spreadsheets
- Web browsers
- Databases
- Image editors
The most recognizable types of software are associated with computers and have brands such as Windows, Microsoft Word, Adobe, Firefox. Yet, software enters every part of modern society from the clock on a phone to the systems tracking airplanes to safety features in a car.