08/12/2020
1. System Software
The system software is a
type of computer software
that is designed for running
the computer hardware
parts and the application
programs. It is the platform
provided to the computer
system where other
computer programs can
execute. The system
software act as a middle
layer between the user
applications and hardware.
The operating system is the
type of system software. The
operating system is used to
manage all other programs
installed on the computer.
The other purpose of system
software is to translate
inputs received from other
sources and convert them
into language so that the
machine can understand.
The BIOS (basic input/output
system) is another type of
system software that works
when the computer system
starts and is used to manage
the data between the
hardware devices (video
adapter, mouse, keyboard
and printer) and the
operating system. The
system software provides
the functionality for the user
to use the hardware directly
using the device drivers
program.
The boot is the system
software program that loads
the operating system in the
main memory of the
computer or can load in
random access memory
(RAM). The other example of
system software is assembler
which has a functionality to
take computer instructions
as input and then convert it
into bits so that the
processor can read that bit
and perform computer
operations.
The other example of system
software is a device driver
which is used to control
some specific device which is
connected to computer
systems like mouse or
keyboard. The device driver
software is used to convert
input/ output instructions of
OS to messages so that the
device can read and
understand. The system
software can be run in the
background or can be
executed directly by the user.
2. Application Software
The other category of
software is application
software that is designed for
the users to perform some
specific tasks like writing a
letter, listening to music or
seeing any video. For all
these requirements there
required a specific software
for each type and that
specific software that is
designed for some specific
purpose is known as
application software. The
operating software runs the
application software in the
computer system.
The difference between
system software and
application software is the
difference in the user
interface. In system software,
there is no user interface
present whereas in
application software the user
interface is present for each
software so that users can
easily use the software. The
user cannot see the system
software like an operating
system and cannot work in
system software but in an
application, software users
can see the application
software using a graphical
user interface and can also
work in the application
software. The user also has
an option to create its user-
written software and use the
software for its personal use.
The templates are present
which can be used by the
user to create user-written
programs. The application
software can be bundled
together and that bundle is
known as an application
suite. An example of an
application suite is Microsoft
Office. The word processor
software is designed by
combining various small
program to make one single
program which can be used
for writing text, creating a
spreadsheet or creating
presentations. The other type
of application software is
Mozilla Firefox, internet
explorer. These kinds of
application software can be
used for searching any
article, text on the web and
interact with the outside
world.
3. Programming
Languages
The programming language
is the third category of
computer software which is
used by the programmers to
write their programs, scripts,
and instructions which can
be executed by a computer.
The other name of the
programming language is a
computer language that can
be used to create some
common standards. The
programming language can
be considered as a brick
which can be used to
construct computer
programs and operating
system. The examples of
programming languages are
JAVA, C, C++, and other
languages.
There is always some
similarity between the
programming languages the
only difference is the syntax
of programming language
which makes them different.
The programmer uses the
syntax and rules of
programming language to
write their programs. Once
the source code is written by
a programmer in the IDE
(Integrated Development
Environment) the
programmer then compiles
that code in machine
language which can be
understood by the computer.
The use of programming
language is in developing
websites, applications, and
many other programs.
The programming language
can be broadly divided into
two major elements syntax
and semantics. The
programming language
follows some sequence of
operations so that the
desired output can be
achieved. The programming
language is also known as
high-level language as the
programs written by a
programmer are easy to read
and easy to understand. The
JAVA, C, C++ programming
languages are considered as
high-level language. The
other category of a
programming language is a
low-level language.
The low level of language
includes machine language
and assembly language. The
assembly language contains
a list of instructions that are
not easy to read and
understand. The machine
language contains binary
codes that can be read by
CPU directly and not present
in a human-readable form.
The low level of language can
be directly understood by
computer hardware.
As discussed the software is a
program, script which executes
on the computer system. And as
we discussed there are broadly
three types of software i.e.
system software, application
software, and programming
language software. Each type of
software has its function and
runs on the computer system.
