Hardware and Networking,Programming in C and C++,Microsoft Office, Teaching of Computer Science :Important and useful Learning Materials for the Learners/Users/Students.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Software

Instructions that tell a computer what to do. Software comprises the entire set of programs, procedures, and routines associated with the operation of a computer system. The term was coined to differentiate these instructions from hardware—i.e., the physical components of a computer system. A set of instructions that directs a computer's hardware to perform a task is called a program, or software program.

The two main types of software are system software and application software.

# System software controls a computer's internal functioning, chiefly through an operating system, and also controls such peripherals as monitors, printers, and storage devices.

# Application software, by contrast, directs the computer to execute commands given by the user and may be said to include any program that processes data for a user. Application software thus includes word processors, spreadsheets, database management, inventory and payroll programs, and many other “applications.”

A third software category is that of network software, which coordinates communication between the computers linked in a network.

0 comments: