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Software and Its Types

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12 views

Software and Its Types

Uploaded by

Kamran Ahmad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CASET

College of Computer Science


Subject: Digital and Technological Solutions
Semester: 1st
Teacher Incharge: Khan Showkat

Software and its Types


In a computer system, the software is basically a set of instructions or commands that tells a
computer what to do. Or in other words, the software is a computer program that provides a
set of instructions to execute a user’s commands and tell the computer what to do. For
example like MS-Word, MS-Excel, PowerPoint, etc. The chart below describes the types of
software:

Above is the diagram of types of software. Now we will briefly describe each type and its
subtypes:
System Software
System software is software that directly operates the computer hardware and provides the
basic functionality to the users as well as to the other software to operate smoothly. Or in
other words, system software basically controls a computer’s internal functioning and also
controls hardware devices such as monitors, printers, and storage devices, etc. It is like an
interface between hardware and user applications, it helps them to communicate with each
other because hardware understands machine language(i.e. 1 or 0) whereas user applications
are work in human-readable languages like English, Hindi, German, etc. so system software
converts the human-readable language into machine language and vice versa.
Features of system software:
Let us discuss some of the features of System Software:
1. System Software is closer to the computer system.
2. System Software is written in a low-level language in general.
3. System software is difficult to design and understand.
4. System software is fast in speed(working speed).
5. System software is less interactive for the users in comparison to application software.
Types of system software:
It has two subtypes which are:
1. Operating System: It is the main program of a computer system. When the computer
system ON it is the first software that loads into the computer’s memory. Basically, it
manages all the resources such as memory, CPU, printer, hard disk, etc., and provides an
interface to the user, which helps the user to interact with the computer system. It also
provides various services to other computer software. Examples of operating systems are
Linux, Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, etc.
2. Language Processor: As we know that system software converts the human-readable
language into a machine language and vice versa. So, the conversion is done by the
language processor. It converts programs written in high-level programming languages like
Java, C, C++, Python, etc(known as source code), into sets of instructions that are easily
readable by machines(known as object code or machine code).
3. Device Driver: A device driver is a program or software that controls a device and helps
that device to perform its functions. Every device like a printer, mouse, modem, etc. needs
a driver to connect with the computer system eternally. So, when you connect a new
device with your computer system, first you need to install the driver of that device so that
your operating system knows how to control or manage that device.

Application Software
Software that performs special functions or provides functions that are much more than the
basic operation of the computer is known as application software. Or in other words,
application software is designed to perform a specific task for end-users. It is a product or a
program that is designed only to fulfil end-users’ requirements. It includes word processors,
spreadsheets, database management, inventory, payroll programs, etc.
Features of application software:
Let us discuss some of the features of Application Software:
1. An important feature of application software is it performs more specialized tasks like word
processing, spreadsheets, email, etc.
2. Mostly, the size of the software is big, so it requires more storage space.
3. Application software is more interactive for the users, so it is easy to use and design.
4. The application software is easy to design and understand.
5. Application software is written in a high-level language in general.

Types of application software:


There are different types of application software and those are:
1. General Purpose Software: This type of application software is used for a variety of tasks
and it is not limited to performing a specific task only. For example, MS-Word, MS-Excel,
PowerPoint, etc.
2. Customized Software: This type of application software is used or designed to perform
specific tasks or functions or designed for specific organizations. For example, railway
reservation system, airline reservation system, invoice management system, etc.
3. Utility Software: This type of application software is used to support the computer
infrastructure. It is designed to analyze, configure, optimize and maintains the system, and
take care of its requirements as well. For example, antivirus, disk fragmenter, memory
tester, disk repair, disk cleaners, registry cleaners, disk space analyzer, etc.
Difference between system software and application software
Now, let us discuss some difference between system software and application software:

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