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Other uses Computer software , or just software , is a collection of computer program s and related data that provides the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. Software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. In other words, software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms and its documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. Program software performs the Function (engineering)|function of the Computer program|program it implements, either by directly providing instruction (computer science)|instructions to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. The Terminology|term was coined to contrast to the old term computer hardware|hardware (meaning physical devices). In contrast to hardware, software "cannot be touched".cite web | title = Wordreference.com: WordNet 2.0 | publisher = Princeton University, Princeton, NJ | url = http://www.wordreference.com/definition/software | accessdate = 2007-08-19 Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records.cite web|title=software..(n.d.). |work=Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)| accessdate =2007-04-13|url= http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/software
Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware , which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, executable code consists of machine language instructions specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Programs are an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming language s 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 an assembly language , essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an Assemblers|assembler .
History
For|the history prior to 1946|History of computing hardwarerewrite section|date=January 2012The first theory about software was proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem (Decision problem) .Cite book|last=Hally|first= Mike|year=2005|page=79|title=Electronic brains/Stories from the dawn of the computer age|publisher= British Broadcasting Corporation and Granta Books|location=London| isbn =1-86207-663-4 The term "software" was first used in print by John W. Tukey in 1958.cite news|title=John Tukey, 85, Statistician; Coined the Word 'Software'|publisher= New York Times|work= Obituaries|date= July 28, 2000 |url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html? res=9500E4DA173DF93BA15754C0A9669C8B63& scp=1& sq=& pagewanted=1 Colloquially, the term is often used to mean application software. In computer science and software engineering , software is all information processed by computer system , programs and data . The academic fields studying software are computer science and software engineering .
The history of computer software is most often traced back to the first software bug in 1946Citation needed|date=November 2010. As more and more programs enter the realm of firmware, and the hardware itself becomes smaller, cheaper and faster as predicted by Moore's law , elements of computing first considered to be software, join the ranks of hardware. Most hardware companies today have more software programmers on the payroll than hardware designersCitation needed|date=November 2010, since software tools have automated many tasks of Printed circuit board engineers. Just like the Auto industry , the Software industry has grown from a few visionaries operating out of their garage with prototype s. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were the Henry Ford and Louis Chevrolet of their timesCitation needed|date=November 2010, who capitalized on ideas already commonly known before they started in the business. In the case of Software development , this moment is generally agreed to be the publication in the 1980s of the specifications for the IBM Personal Computer published by IBM employee Philip Don Estridge . Today his move would be seen as a type of crowd-sourcing .
Until that time, software was Bundled software|bundled with the hardware by Original equipment manufacturer s (OEMs) such as Data General , Digital Equipment and IBMCitation needed |date=November 2010. When a customer bought a minicomputer , at that time the smallest computer on the market, the computer did not come with Pre-installed software , but needed to be installed by engineers employed by the OEM. Computer hardware companies not only bundled their software, they also placed demands on the location of the hardware in a refrigerated space called a Data center|computer room . Most companies had their software on the books for 0 dollars, unable to claim it as an asset (this is similar to financing of popular music in those days). When Data General introduced the Data General Nova , a company called Digidyne wanted to use its RDOS operating system on its own Clone (computing)|hardware clone . Data General refused to Software license|license their software (which was hard to do, since it was on the books as a free asset), and claimed their "bundling rights". The Supreme Court set a precedent called Digidyne v. Data General in 1985. The Supreme Court let a 9th circuit decision stand, and Data General was eventually forced into licensing the Operating System software because it was ruled that restricting the license to only DG hardware was an illegal tying arrangement .cite web |title=Tying Arrangements and the Computer Industry: Digidyne Corp. vs. Data General|jstor=1372482 Soon after, IBM 'published' its DOS source for free,Citation needed|date=September 2011 and Microsoft was born. Unable to sustain the loss from lawyer's fees, Data General ended up being taken over by EMC Corporation . The Supreme Court decision made it possible to value software, and also purchase Software patent s. The move by IBM was almost a protest at the time. Few in the industry believed that anyone would profit from it other than IBM (through free publicity). Microsoft and Apple Inc.|Apple were able to thus cash in on 'soft' products. It is hard to imagine today that people once felt that software was worthless without a machine. There are many successful companies today that sell only software products, though there are still many common software licensing problems due to the complexity of designs and poor documentation, leading to patent troll s.
With open software specifications and the possibility of software licensing, new opportunities arose for software tools that then became the de facto standard , such as DOS for operating systems, but also various proprietary word processing and spreadsheet programs. In a similar growth pattern, proprietary development methods became standard Software development methodology .
Types of software
rect 1 1 250 90 User (computing)|User rect 1 91 250 180 Application software|Application rect 1 181 250 270 Operating system|Operating System rect 1 271 250 360 Personal computer hardware|Hardware
Software includes all the various forms and roles that digitally stored data may have and play in a computer (or similar system), regardless of whether the data is used as code for a CPU, or other interpreter , or whether it represents other kinds of information . Software thus encompasses a wide array of products that may be developed using different techniques such as ordinary programming languages , scripting languages , microcode , or an Field-programmable gate array|FPGA configuration.
The types of software include web pages developed in languages and frameworks like HTML , PHP , Perl , JavaServer Pages|JSP , ASP.NET , XML , and desktop application s like OpenOffice.org , Microsoft Word developed in languages like& nbsp; C (programming language)|C , C++ , Objective-C , Java (programming language)|Java , C Sharp (programming language)|C# , or Smalltalk . Application software usually runs on an underlying software operating system s such as Linux or Microsoft Windows . Software (or firmware ) is also used in video game s and for the configurable parts of the logic systems of automobile s, television s, and other consumer electronics .
Practical computer system s divide software system s into three major classesCitation needed|date=September 2009: system software , programming software and application software , although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.
System software
Main|System software System software is computer software designed to operate the computer hardware to provide basic functionality and to provide a platform for running application software . http://depts.alverno.edu/cil/mod1/software/system.html dead link|date=May 2012cite web|url= http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci213024,00.html |title=What is software? - Definition from Whatis.com |publisher=Searchsoa.techtarget.com |date=2012-05-13 |accessdate=2012-05-18 System software includes device driver s, operating system s, server (computing)|servers , software utility|utilities , and window system s.
System software is responsible for managing a variety of independent hardware components, so that they can work together harmoniously. Its purpose is to unburden the application software programmer from the often complex details of the particular computer being used, including such accessories as communications device s, printers, device readers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer's resources such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable manner.
Programming software
Main|Programming tool Programming software include tools in the form of programs or applications that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications. The term usually refers to relatively simple programs such as compiler s, debugger s, interpreter (computing)|interpreters , linker (computing)|linkers , and text editor s, that can be combined together to accomplish a task, much as one might use multiple hand tools to fix a physical object. Programming tools are intended to assist a programmer in writing computer program s, and they may be combined in an integrated development environment (IDE) to more easily manage all of these functions.
Application software
Application software is developed to perform in any task that benefits from computation. It is a set of programs that allows the computer to perform a specific data processing job for the user. It is a broad category, and encompasses software of many kinds, including the internet browser being used to display this page. This category includes:
Business software
Computer-aided design
Database s
Decision-making software
Educational software
Image editing
automation|Industrial automation
Mathematical software
Medical software
List of software for molecular mechanics modeling|Molecular modeling software
List of quantum chemistry and solid state physics software|Quantum chemistry and solid state physics software
Simulation software
Spreadsheet s
Telecommunication s (i.e., Internet|the Internet and everything that flows on it)
Video editing software
Video game s
Word processing
Software topics
Architecture
See also|Software architectureUsers often see things differently than programmers. People who use modern general purpose computers (as opposed to embedded system s, analog computer s and supercomputer s) usually see three layers of software performing a variety of tasks: platform, application, and user software.
Platform software: Platform (computing)|Platform includes the firmware , device driver s, an operating system , and typically a graphical user interface which, in total, allow a user to interact with the computer and its peripheral s (associated equipment). Platform software often comes bundled with the computer. On a Personal computer|PC you will usually have the ability to change the platform software.
Application software: Application software or Applications are what most people think of when they think of software. Typical examples include office suites and video games. Application software is often purchased separately from computer hardware. Sometimes applications are bundled with the computer, but that does not change the fact that they run as independent applications. Applications are usually independent programs from the operating system, though they are often tailored for specific platforms. Most users think of compilers, databases, and other "system software" as applications.
User-written software: End-user development tailors systems to meet users' specific needs. User software include spreadsheet templates and word processor templates. Even email filters are a kind of user software. Users create this software themselves and often overlook how important it is. Depending on how competently the user-written software has been integrated into default application packages, many users may not be aware of the distinction between the original packages, and what has been added by co-workers.
Documentation
main|Software documentation Most software has software documentation so that the end user can understand the program, what it does, and how to use it. Without clear documentation, software can be hard to use—especially if it is very specialized and relatively complex like Photoshop or AutoCAD .
Developer documentation may also exist, either with the code as comments and/or as separate files, detailing how the programs works and can be modified.
Library
main|Software library An executable is almost always not sufficiently complete for direct execution. Software library|Software libraries include collections of function (computer science)|functions and functionality that may be embedded in other applications. Operating systems include many standard Software libraries, and applications are often distributed with their own libraries.
Standard
main|Software standardSince software can be designed using many different programming languages and in many different operating systems and operating environment s, software standard is needed so that different software can understand and exchange information between each other. For instance, an email sent from a Microsoft Outlook should be readable from Yahoo& #33; Mail and vice versa.
Execution
main|Execution (computing) Computer software has to be "loaded" into the computer storage|computer's storage (such as the hard drive or Computer memory|memory ). Once the software has loaded, the computer is able to execute the software. This involves passing instruction (computer science)|instructions from the application software, through the system software, to the hardware which ultimately receives the instruction as machine language|machine code . Each instruction causes the computer to carry out an operation& nbsp;– moving data (computing)|data , carrying out a computation , or altering the control flow of instructions.
Data movement is typically from one place in memory to another. Sometimes it involves moving data between memory and registers which enable high-speed data access in the CPU. Moving data, especially large amounts of it, can be costly. So, this is sometimes avoided by using "pointers" to data instead. Computations include simple operations such as incrementing the value of a variable data element. More complex computations may involve many operations and data elements together.
Quality and reliability
main|Software quality|Software testing|Software reliability Software quality is very important, especially for commercial and system software like Microsoft Office , Microsoft Windows and Linux . If software is faulty (buggy), it can delete a person's work, crash the computer and do other unexpected things. Faults and errors are called " Software bug|bugs ." Many bugs are discovered and eliminated (debugged) through software testing . However, software testing rarely& nbsp;– if ever& nbsp;– eliminates every bug; some programmers say that "every program has at least one more bug" (Lubarsky's Law). All major software companies, such as Microsoft, Novell and Sun Microsystems , have their own software testing departments with the specific goal of just testing. Software can be tested through unit testing , regression testing and other methods, which are done manually, or most commonly, automatically, since the amount of code to be tested can be quite large. For instance, NASA has extremely rigorous software testing procedures for many operating systems and communication functions. Many NASA based operations interact and identify each other through command programs called software. This enables many people who work at NASA to check and evaluate functional systems overall. Programs containing command software enable hardware engineering and system operations to function much easier together.
License
main|Software license The software's license gives the user the right to use the software in the licensed environment. Some software comes with the license when purchased off the shelf, or an OEM license when bundled with hardware. Other software comes with a free software license , granting the recipient the rights to modify and redistribute the software. Software can also be in the form of freeware or shareware .
Patents
main|Software patent|Software patent debate Software can be patented in some but not all countries; however, software patent s can be controversial in the software industry with many people holding different views about it. The controversy over software patents is about specific algorithms or techniques that the software contains, which may not be duplicated by others and considered intellectual property and copyright infringement depending on the severity.
Design and implementation
main|Software development|Computer programming|Software engineeringDesign and implementation of software varies depending on the complexity of the software. For instance, design and creation of Microsoft Word software will take much more time than designing and developing Microsoft Notepad because of the difference in functionalities in each one.
Software is usually designed and created (coded/written/programmed) in integrated development environment s (IDE) like Eclipse (software)|Eclipse , Emacs and Microsoft Visual Studio that can simplify the process and compiler|compile the program. As noted in different section, software is usually created on top of existing software and the application programming interface (API) that the underlying software provides like GTK+ , JavaBeans or Swing (Java)|Swing . Libraries (APIs) are categorized for different purposes. For instance, JavaBeans library is used for designing enterprise application s, Windows Forms library is used for designing graphical user interface (GUI) applications like Microsoft Word , and Windows Communication Foundation is used for designing web services . Underlying computer programming concept s like quicksort , hashtable , array data type|array , and binary tree can be useful to creating software. When a program is designed, it relies on the API. For instance, if a user is designing a Microsoft Windows desktop application, he/she might use the .NET Framework|.NET Windows Forms library to design the desktop application and call its APIs like Form1.Close() and Form1.Show() cite web |url= http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/default.aspx | title=MSDN Library|accessdate=2010-06-14 to close or open the application and write the additional operations him/herself that it need to have. Without these APIs, the programmer needs to write these APIs him/herself. Companies like Sun Microsystems , Novell , and Microsoft provide their own APIs so that many applications are written using their software library|software libraries that usually have numerous APIs in them.
Computer software has special economic characteristics that make its design, creation, and distribution different from most other economic goods.Specify|Which characteristics? |date=May 2012cite journal|author=v. Engelhardt, Sebastian |year=2008|url= http://ideas.repec.org/p/jrp/jrpwrp/2008-045.html |title=The Economic Properties of Software|journal= Jena Economic Research Papers| volume= 2| issue= 2008–045. cite web|url= http://dankaminsky.com/1999/03/02/69/ |title=Why Open Source Is The Optimum Economic Paradigm for Software|first= Dan |last=Kaminsky |year=1999
A person who creates software is called a programmer , software engineer , software developer , or code monkey , terms that all have a similar meaning.
Industry and organizations
main|Software industry A great variety of software companies and programmers in the world comprise a software industry. Software can be quite a profitable industry: Bill Gates , the founder of Microsoft was the richest person in the world in 2009 largely by selling the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office software products. The same goes for Larry Ellison , largely through his Oracle database software. Through time the software industry has become increasingly specialized.
Non-profit software organizations include the Free Software Foundation , GNU Project and Mozilla Foundation . Software standard organizations like the W3C , IETF develop software standards so that most software can interoperate through standards such as XML , HTML , HTTP or FTP .
Other well-known large software companies include Novell , SAP AG|SAP , Symantec , Adobe Systems , and Corel , while small companies often provide innovation.
