What is Software and Different Types of Software with their Explanation. 

What is Software & Meaning of Software and Its Types

The word ‘Software’ doesn’t bother those who dabble in Computers and Technology. But for those who are not actually so friendly with all this digital stuff it always brings a question mark in mind, sometimes on the face too. To put it simply, “Software is the set of orders or say instructions given to a computer which tells it how to work.”

The word “Software” is often accompanied by another word “Hardware”. As both, the word suggests, the hardware is the hard part of the computer system. That means, parts of a computer system that can be seen, touched and felt rough. The actual ‘hard’ part of computer system. So, the software can be figured out to be the soft parts of computers means those which cannot actually be touched, felt, or seen directly. The word software came into use since the late 60’s just to underline its difference from the hard physical parts of the computer. Software is just a collection of instructions given to the computer in its specific machine language to make it work using its hardware components.

Software is the program that actually runs the computers or other digital tools such as tablets, mobile phones, and smart devices. The software encompasses all those things which run on a computer or a smart device. It may be an operating system of a computer, utility tools, video games, media players, antivirus, etc.

What is Software and Different Types of Software

Types of Software

To talk about types of software, it is mainly divided into two types: System software and Application software.

1. System Software (Definition of System Software):

System software contains operating systems, device drivers, compilers, text editors, utilities, and other such programs that help a computer run and help it to function. It co-ordinates the hardware parts of a computer and also provides general tools like a calculator, notepad, etc. In short, the system software is the base of the computer system.

2. Application Software (Definition of Application Software):

Those software’s which are designed in order to make the computer perform some specific functions are known as Application software. Sometimes, Application software is a single function performing program, and sometimes, it may be set small programs. Examples of Application software may bring you the exact idea of what software means in day to day life. Few examples of Application software are office suits like Microsoft word, media players like VLC media player, various digital video games, educational software, etc.

Apart from these two main types, the software is categorized further with a varying base of classification.

• System Software
• Application Software
• Programming Software
• Open Source Software
• Malicious Software
• Public Domain Software
• Utility Software

You must know About Software

A user has to install the software on its computer. The process is quite simple.  The setup file of the desired software is to be first copied on the computer’s memory. It can be done using a DVD, CD, flash drive, or can be downloaded directly to the computer from the Internet. Similarly, it can be uninstalled from the computer if the user wishes so.

Some software is available free on disks and online. While most others have to be purchased. Some software is available in trial versions for free for a certain period, later a user needs to pay for them to extend their validity period.

One thing is for sure that Software is necessary to do anything on a computer. Without the software, the computer will not run… will not even walk!!