What is Software ?

-

Software, in general terms, is a set of instructions (commonly known as "code") placed between you and the hardware of the device, which allows you to use it.

What is a Computer Software?

But what really is computer software? It is an invisible component of a computer system that allows it to interact with the physical components of the computer. The software allows you to communicate with smartphones, tablets, game boxes, media players, and similar devices.

It is important to note that there is a clear difference between hardware and software. Software is an intangible resource. You can't hold it in your hands. Hardware consists of physical resources such as mice, keyboards, USB ports, CPUs, memory, and printers. Phones are hardware. iPads, Kindles, and Fire TV Sticks are hardware. Hardware and software work together to make a system work.

Software Types

While all software is software, everyday use of software is likely to come in two forms: as system software and as an application.

The Windows operating system is an example of system software, and it comes pre-installed on Windows computers. It allows you to interact with the physical computer system. Without this software, you would not be able to turn on your computer, open Windows, and access the desktop. All smart devices have system software, including iPhone and Android devices. This type of software also runs the device and allows you to use it.

Application software is the second type and is more related to the user than to the system. Application software is what you use to work, access media, or play games. It is often pre-installed with the operating system by computer manufacturers and can include music players, office suites, and photo-editing applications. Users can also install compatible third-party software.

Examples of application software are Microsoft Word, Adobe Reader, Google Chrome, Netflix, and Spotify. Antivirus software also exists, at least for computer systems. After all, apps are software. The apps are compatible with Windows 8 and 10, just like all smartphones and tablets.

Stand-Alone Software

Many types of software are considered stand-alone software, which means that the software is not part of a bundle and may run separately from other programs on your device. Some stand-alone programs run independently with flash memory or a hard drive; other types don't require an internet connection and instead rely on the manufacturer's hard drives. However, some programs depend on an operating system or require access to other programs on the device to run properly.

Who Creates the Software?

The definition of software implies that someone has to sit in front of a computer somewhere and write the computer code. It is true; There are freelance coding experts, teams of engineers, and large corporations developing software all vying for your attention.

Adobe makes Adobe Reader and Adobe Photoshop; Microsoft makes the Microsoft Office Suite; McAfee makes antivirus software; Mozilla makes Firefox; Apple makes iOS. Third parties create apps for Windows, iOS, Android, and more. People are writing software all over the world right now.

How to Get Software

Operating systems come with software already installed. For example, in Windows 10 there is the Microsoft Edge web browser and apps like WordPad and Fresh Paint. In iOS there are photo, weather, calendar and clock apps (software). If your device doesn't have all the software you need, you can add more.

Many people add software by downloading it from certain stores. For example, on iPhone, people download apps from the App Store and on Android, people download apps from Google Play. Applications are software, perhaps with a friendlier name.

Another way to add software to your computers is through physical media like a DVD.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Exactly is a File System?

-
Image
Computers use certain types of file systems to store and organize data on media, such as a hard drive or flash drive , or CDs, DVDs, and BDs in an optical drive. A file system can be thought of as an index or database that contains the physical location of all data on the device. Data is usually organized in folders called directories, which can contain other folders and files. Any place where a computer or other electronic device stores data uses some type of file system. This includes your Windows computer, your Mac, your smartphone, your bank's ATM, even the computer in your car! Windows File Systems Historically, Microsoft Windows operating systems have supported different versions of the FAT file system. FAT stands for File Allocation Table, a term that describes what it does: It keeps a table of the disk space allocation of each file. In addition to FAT, all Windows operating systems since Windows NT support a newer file system called NTFS (New Technology File Syst
Read more

What is a Server?

-
Image
A server is a network computer, computer program or device that processes requests and deliver data to another computer over the Internet or a local network. It is a web server, in which web pages can be accessed through a client such as a web browser over the Internet. There are many types of servers, including local servers such as file servers that store data within an intranet network. For example – Network servers (which manage network traffic) & file servers (which store and retrieve files for clients). What is the Use of a Server in a Computer Network ? The server is the software that performs a specific task. However, the powerful hardware that supports this software is also known as a server. It can do anything a standard desktop computer can do and then do it. By contrast, computers can run server processes, but they do so much less productively. Most computer networks support one or more servers that perform specialized tasks. In terms of clients, in general, the
Read more

What is POP - Post Office Protocol ?

-
Image
POP is a type of computer networking & Internet standard protocol that extracts and retrieves email from a remote mail server for access by the host machine. POP has been updated twice since its origin in 1984 as Post Office Protocol1. Pop2 was released in 1985. POP3 was released in 1988 and included new authentication mechanism & other actions. The most recent version is POP 3, and is supported by virtually all email clients and servers. POP uses the TCP/IP protocol stack for network connection & works with SMTP for end-to-end email communication, where POP pulls messages & SMTP pushes them to the server.  How Does POP Works? POP works by downloading your emails from your provider's mail server, and then marking them for deletion there. This means you can only ever read those email messages in that email client, and on that computer. You won't be able to access any previously downloaded emails from any other device, with any other email client, or through webma
Read more