John Tukey used the term ‘software’ in 1958 for the very first time. Software is defined as a collection of different procedures, documentations and programs which carry out various tasks on a computer system. There are several groups of binary values which make up the machine language of software, specifying processor instructions. The instructions change the state of computer hardware in a sequence that is predefined. In other words, a computer speaks its language through software. There are several types of computer software. Let’s look at the major types.
Major Types of Software
Programming Software: This software is the most common and most popular type known. They help a programmer to write different computer programs through various tools. Computer programs address certain tasks of a computer system through logical instructions. To help programmers instruct a computer system, tools like text editors, compilers and interpreters are used.
System Software: It is a collection of operating systems, windowing systems, servers, drivers and other utilities to help run the computer hardware and computer system. System software helps a programmer by keeping him away from a computer’s internal complexities such as hardware, memory, etc.
Application Software: An end user is able to accomplish certain tasks through various forms of application software such as business software, databases and educational software. Other forms of application software include different word processors which are dedicated for specialized tasks to be performed by the user.
There are some other well-known forms of computer software as well apart from the above three major software. They include inventory management software, ERP, utility software, accounting software and others. Some of them are described below.
Inventory Management Software: Such software helps an organization in keeping track of the quality and quantity of its goods and materials. Warehouse inventory management software check and balance the internal warehouse storage and movement. This software also helps a company improve its customer service by organizing and optimizing the flow of goods in the organization.
Utility Software: Utility software help managing computer hardware and application software and are also known as service routine. Normally people are not much excited about utility software as long as they think about the many cool things they do on their computer like watching movies or playing games etc. Most of us don’t even think about utility software until the cool things stop working, so, to keep the computer in its best condition, a complete set of computer utilities is necessary e.g. disk defragmenters, virus scanners and other system utilities.
Data Backup and Recovery Software: There is much more to ideal data backup and recovery software than simply copying of data files in a computer system. Often this software facilitates the user by specifying when and what to back up in an easy way. The original organization of files is preserved by the backup and recovery software and allow and easy retrieval of the data.
All over the world, computer software have gained a huge popularity and a world of computers without software is unimaginable. If it wasn’t for the software, using computers wouldn’t have been so easy. This was just an overview of the major types of software. It is fascinating that computers communicate with the human world through their own languages and human interaction with the computers is possible only because of computer software.