Types of Software

           A computer system consists of hardware, the electronic devices capable of computing and manipulating information, and software that carries out predefined instructions to complete a given task. The combination of physical equipment (hardware) and logical instructions (software) gives power and versatility to the modern computing systems.

Software:

     Software is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instruction for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. A software is an interface between user and computer. Set of instructions form the program, Set of programs form the software which are used to give command to hardware. It is responsible for controlling, integrating and managing the hardware components of a computer system and for accomplishing specific tasks.

Software can be divided into two major categories.

1. System Software.

2. Application Software.

System Software:

    System software consists of several programs, which are directly responsible for controlling, integrating and managing the individual hardware components of a computer system. It also provides the interface between the user and component of the computer.

The purpose of system software is to provide the plat form for applications software. Depending on the functionality, the system software can be further divided into two major categories.

Operating System: 

     It consists programs, which controls and coordinates and supervises the activities of the various components of a computer system. Its function is act as interface between the computer hardware and the user.

    It performs all internal management functions Like disk access, memory management, task scheduling and user interfacing and ensures systematic functioning of a computer system. It provides an environment to run the programs.

Example:

MS-DOS, windows XP/2000/98, Unix Linux, etc.

The operating system performs the following functions.

It recognizes input from keyboard, sends output to the display screen.

It makes sure that programs running at the same time do not interface with each other.

It is also responsible for security, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the system.

BIOS:

   The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is commonly known as System BIOS. The BIOS controls various electronic components within the main computer system. The initial function of the BIOS is to initialize system devices such as the RAM, hard disk, CD/DVD drive, video display card and other hardware. The BIOS sets the machine hardware into a known state that helps the operating system to configure the hardware components. This process is known as Booting Up.

 

Device Drivers:

   

      A software, which is written with the objective of making a device functional when it is  connected to the computer is called device driver. It is a system software that acts like an interface between the device and the user. Every device, whether it is a printer, monitor, mouse or keyboard has a driver program associated with it for its proper functioning.

   

      Device drivers are a set of instructions that introduce our PC to a hardware device. Device drivers are not independent programs, they assist and are assisted by the operating system for the proper functioning.

 

System Utilities:

     

       These programs perform tasks related to the maintenance of the computer system. These are the packages which are loaded into computer during time of installation of operating system. They are used to support, enhance, expand and secure existing programs and data in the computer system.

System utility mainly consists of the following functions:

Disk Compression It increases the amount of information that can be stored on a hard disk by compressing all information stored on a hard disk. This utility works automatically and the user does not need to be aware of its existence.

Disk Fragment It  detects computer files whose contents are broken across several locations on the hard disk and moves the fragments to one location to increase efficiency. It can be used to rearrange files and unused space on your hard disk.

Backup Utilities It can make a copy of all information stored on a disk and restore either the entire disk or selected files.

Disk Cleaners It is used to find files that have not been used for a long time. This utility also serves to increase the speed of a slow computer.

Anti-Virus It is the utility which is used to scan computer for viruses and prevent the computer system files from being corrupt.

 

Application Software:

   

      Application software is a computer software designed to help the user to perform single tasks. It is a set of instructions or program designed for specific uses or applications, that enable the user to interact with a computer. Application software are also called the end-user programs. These programs do the real work for users.

There are several application software.

General Purpose Software:

General purpose software’s are designed to perform general tasks.

Word Processing Software:

    A word processor is a software program capable of creating, storing and printing of documents. Word processors have the ability to create a document and make changes anywhere in the document. This document can also be saved for modification later on or be opened on any other computer using the same word processor. Today, the word processor is one of the most frequently used programs or online services used on a computer system.

Example:

Microsoft Word, Word Perfect (Windows only), Apple works (Mac only), Open Office. Org etc.

Presentation software:

    Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the contents of a topic to an audience or learner visually. People, in a variety of settings and situations, use presentation software to make their presentations more interesting and professional. e.g., marketing managers use presentation graphics to present new marketing strategies to their superiors Sales people use this software to demonstrate products and encourage customers to make purchases. Students use it to create high quality class presentations.

Example:

Microsoft PowerPoint, Corel presentations, Lotus Freelance Graphics etc.

Electronic Spreadsheets:

    Spreadsheet applications are the computer programs that accepts data in a tabular form and allow you to create and manipulate spreadsheets electronically. In Spreadsheet Applications, each value exists in a cell. The relationships between cells are called Formulas and the names of the cells are called Labels.

Example:

Microsoft Excel, Corel Quattro Pro, Lotus 1-2-3 etc.

Database Management System (DBMS):

    A DBMS (Database Management System) refers to the software that is responsible for sorting, maintaining and utilizing a database. It enables a user to define, create and maintain the database and provide controlled access on it. A database is a collection of integrated data stored together to serve multiple applications.

Database management system provide several additional features as,

Remove data redundancy

Elimination of data inconsistency

Data sharing

Data integration

Data security

Example:

Microsoft Access, Corel Paradox, Lotus Approach etc.

Desktop Publishing Software:

    Desktop publishing software is a tool for graphic designers and non-designers to create visual communications for professional or desktop printing as well as for online or on screen electronic publishing. Complete Desktop Publishing (DTP) involves the combination of type setting, graphic design, Page layout and printing the document.

Example:

Quark Express, Adobe Page Maker, 3B2, Corel Draw, Corel Ventura Illustrator etc.

Graphics Software:

    Graphics Software or image editing software is an application program or collection of programs that enables a person to manipulate visual images on a computer system. Most graphics software have ability to import and export one or more graphics file formats. Typical graphics software enables data to be plotted as line chart, bar chart and pie chart.

Example:

Adobe Photoshop, Pizza, Microsoft Publishes etc.

Multimedia Software:

    Multimedia includes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video or interactivity content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which uses only rudimentary computer display such as text only or traditional forms of printed or hand produced material.

Specific Purpose Software:

     Specific purpose software are designed to perform specific tasks. This type of application software generally has one purpose to execute. Some of the specific purpose application software’s are described below.

Hotel Management System:

    Hotel management system refers to the management techniques used in the hotel sector. These can include hotel administration, accounts, billing, marketing, housekeeping, front office or front desk.

Reservation System:

    A reservation system or central reservation system (CRS) is a computerized system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rental, or other activities. It is an application software which is commonly seen at railway reservation offices, this software helps the concerned department to automatically check the availability of the seats or berths of any train and any particular data with incomparable speed.

Report Card Generator:

   It is an application software which is commonly used in schools by the examination department to prepare and generate the report cards of the students. It performs all possible mathematical calculations and checks whether a student can be promoted to the next class or not. It can also be used to calculate the class wise ranking of a student.

Accounting software:

    Accounting software is an application software that records and processes accounting transactions within functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and trial balance. It works as an accounting information system.

Attendance System:

    Attendance system is an application software designed to track and optimize the presence of a person/ student in an organization or school. Now-a-days, attendance system can be integrated with customer’s existing time/attendance recording devices like Bio-metrics/ Access cards. Attendance management can be done in two ways 1. Bio-metric Integration 2. Manually Attendance Integration

Billing System:

     It refers to the software that is used to perform the billing process. It handles the tracking of ladled products and services delivered to a customer or set of customers. e.g., Billing Tracker, Killing etc.