SOFTWARE
As
you are aware, computer cannot do anything on its own. It is the user who
instructs computer; what to do, how to do and when to do. In order to perform
any task, you have to give a set of instructions in a particular sequence to
the computer. These sets of instructions are called Programs.
Software refers to a set of programs that makes the hardware
perform a particular set of tasks in particular order. Software can be
classified mainly into following categories and sub-categories are shown in
Figure 1
Fig-1: Classification
of Software
System Software
When
you switch on the computer the programs stored in ROM are executed which
activates different units of your computer and makes it ready for you to work
on it. This set of programs can be called system software. System softwares are
sets of programs, responsible for running the computer, controlling various
operations of computer systems and management of computer resources. Operating
System (OS) falls under this category.
An
operating system is a system
software that provides an interface for a user to communicate with the
computer, manages hardware devices (disk drives, keyboard, monitor, etc),
manages and maintains disk file systems and supports application programs. Some
popular Operating systems are UNIX, Windows and Linux.
Although
operating system provides all the features users need to use and maintain their
systems, inevitably, they still do not meet everyone’s expectations. This has
led to another type of system software called "Utilities".
These are programs that bridge the gap between the functionality of an OS and
the needs of users. Utility programs are a broad category of software such as
compress (zip)/uncompress (unzip) files software, anti virus software, split
and join files software, etc.
Application Software
Application
software is a set of programs, which are written to perform specific tasks, for
example: An application package for managing library known as library
information system is used to manage information of library
such as: keeping book details, account holder details, book issue details, book
return details etc. Another application package for managing student details is
called student’s information system, manages
student’s roll no, name, parents name, address, class, section, processing of
examination results etc. Application software can be broadly classified into
two types:
(a) Generalized packages
(b) Customized packages
Generalized Packages
These
are user friendly software’s written to cater to user’s very general
needs such as preparing documents, drawing pictures, database to manage
data/information, preparing presentations, play games etc.
It
is a group of programs that provide general purpose tools to solve
specific problems. Some of the generalized packages are listed
below:
Word Processing Software (for preparing documents):
Word Perfect, MS-Word, OpenOffice.org Writer
Spreadsheets (Data Analysis):
Lotus Smart suites, MS-Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc, Apple Numbers
Presentations:
Presentation Graphics, MS-PowerPoint, OpenOffice.org Impress
Database
Management System: MS-Access, OpenOffice.org Base, MS-SQL
Server, ORACLE
Graphics Tools:
Paint shop pro, Adobe Photoshop
Customized
Packages
These
are the applications that are customized (or developed) to meet the specific
requirements of an organization/institution. For Example: Student information
details, Payroll packages, inventory control etc.
These
packages are developed using high-level computer language.
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