TOPIC

INDEX

1. Software-Definition 2. Types of Software 3. System Software 4. Application Software 5. Programing Tools 6. Types of System Software 7. Types of Application Software 8. Top ten successful software 9. How software and hardware interact 10. Bibliography

Computer software, or simply software, also known as computer programs, is the non-tangible component of computers. Computer software contrasts with computer hardware, which is the physical component of computers. Computer hardware and software require each other and neither can be realistically used without the other. Computer software includes all computer programs regardless of their architecture; for example, executable files, libraries and scripts are computer software. Yet, it shares their mutual properties: software consists of clearly-defined instructions that upon execution, instructs hardware to perform the tasks for which it is designed. Software is stored in computer memory and cannot be touched, just as a 3D model shown in an illustration cannot be touched.

At the lowest level, executable code consists of machine language instructions specific to an individual processor typically a central processing unit (CPU). A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its

preceding state. For example, an instruction may change the value stored in a particular storage location inside the computer an effect that is not directly observable to the user. An instruction may also (indirectly) cause something to appear on a display of the computer system a state change which should be visible to the user. The processor carries out the instructions in the order they are provided, unless it is instructed to "jump" to a different instruction, or interrupted. Software is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in a low-level assembly language, essentially, a vaguely mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet.

System software - The system software

is collection of programs designed to operate, control and extend the processing capabilities of the computer itself. System software is generally prepared by computer manufactures.

FEATURES OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE

It is Close to system. It is fast in speed. It is Difficult to manipulate. It is smaller in size. It is Difficult to design. It is Difficult to understand. It is generally written in low level language.

System control programs

System support programs System development programs
System

control program-They control the

execution of programs .ex-Operating system. Device drivers- Device drivers are system programs, which are responsible for proper functioning of device. Ex - device like printer, a user must load the device driver of that particular printer.

System support programs-They provide routine service function to other computer programs and users. Ex-utility programs. Some utility programs areText editors, they are used to create and edit files. For ex-notepad is the text editor. Backup utilities-These utility programs help us to backup of our important data. By using these programs files are backed up to floppies, CD and DVD. Data recovery software-Sometimes an illegal operation may result in an accidental loss of data which was still to be needed then we used data recovery software. Ex-Recycle bin.

Compression utilities- Compression utility are used to compress large sized files so that they can be stored in storage of low capacity. Win-zip is a popular compression utility used in window based desktops.

Anti-virus utility - Any program that affects the normal working of the other programs or affects the boot sector of the disk is a virus. The anti-virus software detects the virus, identify and prevent it from spreading. Some examples of anti-virus software are Nortons anti-virus, MacAfee. System Development Programs- They assists in the creation of computer programs. Examples of system development are programming language, language translations.

APPLICATION SOFTWARES
Application software-Application software are the software that are designed to satisfy a particular need of a particular environment. All software prepared by us in the computer lab. Examples of application software are-student record software, railway reservation software, income tax software, word processors etc.
application Features of software:*It is close to

user. *It is *It is *It is *It is *It is

Slow in speed Easy to understand. Easy to manipulate Generally, written in high level language easy to design.

TYPES OF APPLICATION SOFTWARE

*General purpose application software-General purpose application software are designed to satisfy common needs of various business. SOME GENERAL PURPOSE SOFTWARE AREWORD PROCESSOR-word processor is the software used to word processing. There are many word processors available in the market. The common and the popular among are: Word Star, MS-WORD. ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET:-A spreadsheet contains greed of cells arranged in columns and rows. Data is

entered into the cells to represent information. Examples of electronics spreadsheet are lotus 1, 2, 3 and excel. PRESENTATION SOFTWARE-presentation software are the software which are used to present information to a large number of people. Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most popular presentation software. DESKTOP PUBLISHING SOFTWARE- desktop publishing software are used for type setting and designing purposes. Well know desktop publishing software are page marker and Coral Draw. WEB BROWSER SOFTWARE-with an internet connection, this type of software enables a user to visit from one site to another by following, to search locations and view web documents .Examples are Netscape communicator,Microsoft internet explorer 6.

SPECIAL PURPOSE APPLICATION SOFTWAREapplication software are created to satisfy specific needs of an organization. Example are payroll software, railway reservation software etc.

PROGRAMMING TOOLS

Now this is a kind of computer software which is used exclusively by computer programmers. Unless we are also programmers, we are unlikely to come across programming languages. A simple way to understand programming languages is to think of them as bricks which can be used to create applications and operating system. C++, Java and Simlab are some popular programming languages. Generally Java is used for internet applications. C++ is a language of professional developers and used extensively in developing operating systems. PHP is another language used for internet applications. There is a new class of languages which are being utilized for the mobiles. These are light weight, modular languages which are used to design mobile applications.

Licensed: A majority of software applications are licensed

and not sold. In this case, a user purchases a software license and not the software itself. The vendor allows for the installation of this software on a specific number of machines. Sometimes, the license is limited to a certain number of users. Most software licenses allow you to run the application on only one machine, although you are allowed to copy the software on other machines for backup purposes. Licenses disallow the resale of software.

Sold: As opposed to licensed software, these software are

sold to users. You need to purchase this type of software from the vendor in which case, you own a legitimate copy of the software. This allows you to resale the software.

As Freeware: Application software that can be downloaded,

used and copied without any restrictions is known as freeware. Generally small programs are released as freeware and are open for use.

As Shareware: These application software can be

downloaded but you need to pay some amount for using them. Generally, mid-size software developed by software companies are made available as shareware.

Open Source: Open source software, as their name

suggests, are made available with their source code. The code is open for modification and use. People mistake open source software for free. But note that here, 'free' refers to the freely available source code, thus making the software open for further development by users.

Needs to be Installed: This is true with many application

software; for example spreadsheet software, word processors, data management software, etc. They need to be installed on your computer hard drive for use.

Runs Online: Antivirus software runs online. Similarly,

Internet games that you can play online and which don't need to be downloaded fall under this category. Simply put, application software are software designed for specific purposes, or meant for specific applications. Application software are of great use in completing individual and organizational tasks, as they have userfriendly features and are easy and interactive to use.

Top 10 software programs that

were either the most successful or the most innovative in the modern era of desktop computing (1976 to the present).

10. Microsoft BASIC (1976)--This was Microsoft's

one true innovation that worked. Unlike its competitor of that era, Northstar BASIC, which was probably better-quality software, Microsoft sold its BASIC unbundled, and it was one of the first standalone boxed programming languages, if not the first. This software triggered the modern programming era and popularized the idea of shrink-wrap languages. 9. Sendmail (circa 1983)--This is the one criteriachallenged pick of this list, since it's kind of a protocol, but it's also a system supported by a company, Sendmail Inc., and is sort of a shrinkwrapped product without the shrink wrap. I had to include it on the list. Today's e-mail boom stems from the invention of this code. 8. Aldus Pagemaker (1985)--This is the program that sealed the deal for desktop publishing and the concept of WYSIWYG. It's the granddad of much of today's layout and design software. I'll also lump in its drawing partners Illustrator and Freehand.

7. dBASE II (1980)--A remarkable product in its day, and its influence lives on in all low-end commercial database software. It popularized the concept of a relational database manager, although it didn't quite follow all the parameters. 6. Photoshop (1990)--Over time the importance of this program to the development of small computers will increase. Used by professionals and amateurs alike, this software has influenced all its competition and has become very desirable. 5. The Mac OS (1984)This OS and its Intel processor variant Windows 95 have to be on the list. The modern implementation of the graphical user interface was invented by Xerox, refined by Apple, and adopted by Microsoft. While Microsoft gets chided by me and others for copying the Apple/Xerox idea, there was probably no idea more worthy of being copied.

4. The Mosaic browser (1993)--This is the code that triggered the second desktop revolution, in combination with the World Wide Web. All modern browsers are based on many of the principles developed by Mosaic. 3. Apache (1995)Apache and software from the open-source movement, including Linux and other initiatives, have to be included. This is a vague category where products are intermixed in a complex scene that encompasses the Internet and its transports. The fact is we would not be where we are today if it were not for the Linux/Apache Web servers. This powerful combination is now evolving into what users call LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQLPHP), which seems to be a movement that will undermine the Microsoft .NET strategy. None of this could have happened without the Apache Web server software, which proved that open-source software can be reliable, stable, free, and definitive. 2. WordStar (1978-1979)WordStar and its predecessor the Electric Pencil, as well as

descendants such as Microsoft Word for Windows, have to be included. WordPerfect also deserves a mention here. But it was WordStar that really triggered things and became the first word processing killer app, dominating word processing for over a decade beginning with its release in the late 1970s. Word. You would not be reading this column if it wasn't for WordStar. 1.VisiCalc (1979)VisiCalc and its descendants, including Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Excel, were standout products. While fundamentally not as important as word processing, the modern spreadsheet, initially implemented on the Apple II, became the triggering mechanism that brought what was then called a microcomputer into the office. Almost all of the history of desktop computing stems from this invention.

How hardware and softwares

interact
When it comes to our computers few of us stop to think of the operations taking place inside the machine that allows us to play our games, type up our papers or surf the web. We tend to take it for granted that when we push that button our computers will just whirl into life and work perfectly. The truth is that there are many processes and programs that must work together to make that happen. In this article I will discuss some of these processes and try to take the mystery out of them. We can break our computers down to two parts, these being hardware and software. These two parts have to work in perfect unison for our computers to complete the tasks we set out for them. Hardware is any and all physical parts of our computer, including extra parts like printers and scanners that we may attach to our systems. Some examples of internal hardware would be your hard drive, motherboard, and video card. Alone these pieces of metal can do nothing. They require a

set of instructions telling them what to do and how to do it. These instructions come in the form of software. Software can be broken down even further into three types: BIOS, operating systems, and application software. These three software types work together in order to make our hardware function properly. We can follow the process used by our software as information passes through our system. The user interacts with the application software which works as a middleman changing the users input into instructions the operating system can understand. The operating system then translates this information into language understandable to the BIOS. The BIOS then turns around and translates these instructions to the computer's hardware allowing the computer to accomplish the task we set before it. This is just a simplified example of how our computer processes data and how our software interacts with itself and with our hardware. You can compare it to a game of Chinese whispers where one person whispers in the ear of the next and so on down the line. Only in this game of whispers the information remains mostly intact and unchanged at the end of the game.

Another form of software that is part of the process is device drivers. These are mini programs stored on the hard drive that tells the computer how to communicate with individual hardware devices such as printers, scanners, and sound cards. Each device has its own drivers or set of instructions and these instructions are unique to that particular device. If you can imagine that your computer speaks French and your printer speaks German the device driver would be the translator making sure both understands

what is said and expected. What we've covered here is a very important and big part of how our computers work but we haven't covered everything. There are other programs and devices that take place in the process such as our motherboards. A computer's motherboard is its most important piece of hardware; it is the computers brain without which it cannot function. Stored within the motherboard is all the software components needed to actually start the computer. Some divide the BIOS into two parts BIOS and motherboard BIOS but in the end it's all one piece of a bigger process. Now we can have a better appreciation of what is happening in our computers case. The mystery had been pulled back enough for us to enjoy a basic understanding of how our hardware and software work together to complete the tasks we set before it.

Bilbliography

1.www.wikipedia.com 2.www.wiki.answers.com 3.www.voice.yahoo.com 4.www.topsoftwares.com 5.www.google.com 6.www.howans.com 7.www.schoolprojects.com 8.www.computersoftwares.com 9.www.lifehacker.com 10.www.streetdirectory.com 11.www.buzzle.com 12.www.en.wiki.books.com

THANK YOU

Efforts by MANAV CHAWLA MALLIKA GUPTA SAKSHI AGGARWAL SIDDHANT AHUJA MANPREET SINGH