Computers & Internet

A collection of computer programs along with required data is known as a computer software, commonly known as ‘software’. The computer programs are commands, which instruct the computer about the steps it has to take to complete a particular task. Sometimes a narrower term may be used to refer to computer software, it is the application software. There are many types of computer software like testware, firmware, system software, middleware, etc. There is often an application software vs system software debate. In this write-up, we will understand the term ‘application software’ before we see the application software examples.

What is an Application Software?
An application software helps the user execute either a single or a multitude of tasks. There are a number of application software types. The different types of application software include database software, multimedia software, word processing software, etc. These software manipulate text, graphics, etc. Some of these software are dedicated only to one type of tasks, while there are others who do a multitude of tasks. The application software examples are enterprise software, graphics software, media players, accounting software, etc.

Types of Application Software
The first of the type of application software is an application suite. A number of applications put together make an application software. These applications have common features, functions and have common user interface. These applications are able to interact with each other and work in tandem.

The next type is the enterprise resource planning software. These software are of help in taking care of the different organizational needs. They are often used in large business setup.

Content access software is also a type of application software. It is used for accessing different kind of content without making any changes to it. An exception in this kind of software is the software used for editing the content itself. The content access software are useful for people in the field of digital content.

Educational software also comes under the category of application software. These software are made according to the need of the students and the educators. Some of the activities included in these software are mock tests, assignments, progress tracking, etc.

Under application software are the collaborative software. These are often Internet-based software, which often involve the use of more than 1 person.

Enterprise infrastructure software are software, which support the software systems in an organization. Normally, the different databases, email servers, etc., are included under this category.

Media development software is another type of application software. These software are used by people in both the print and the digital software. They can also be used in educational institutions along with commercial setups.

Application Software Examples
We will see the examples of application software programs, according to the type of application software it is. The examples of application software according to their types is as follows:

Application Suite
Microsoft Office, iWork, Open Office, etc. are examples of application suite, as they come bundled with a number of applications like word processor, spreadsheet, etc.

Enterprise Resource Software
There are different kinds of software, that come under the category of enterprise resource software. The examples of these software are customer relationship management software, financial software, medical billing software, departmental software, time management software, IT Helpdesk software, church management software, manufacturing software, etc.

Content Access Software
Most of us have certainly used these kinds of software. You may not agree now, but when I tell you the names of the software under this category, you will certainly agree. As a matter of fact, you are currently using one of it. It is the Web Browser. The other examples are media players, help browsers, etc.

Educational Software
The most commonly used educational software are the learning management software, training software, reference software (like encyclopedia, etc.), language learning software. Classroom management software are made with the tutor in mind.

Collaborative Software
The examples of collaborative software are the emails, blogs, Wikipedia, etc.

Enterprise Infrastructure Software
The different database management software, document management software, workflow management software, digital asset management software, project management software, property management software, etc. are all included in the enterprise infrastructure software.

Media Development Software
Animation software, desktop publishing software, HTML editing software, etc., are some of the media development software.

From the application software examples, it has become evident that these software have simplified a number of tasks for a customer. At the same time, from these examples of application software we can see that these software have been helpful for harnessing the computing power to complete numerous individual or organizational tasks. The application software interacting with number of users has also become easier, which has paved the way for revolution in the field of communication.

To begin with, let’s understand what a system software is. System software is the backbone of a computer. While on one hand it regulates the operation of the computer hardware to perform the necessary user-oriented functions, it also provides the basic framework to enable smooth running of the various application software on the other hand. To put it simply, a system software is the basic platform upon which the computer runs its hardware and enables the user to derive full computing functionality of the various application software and get his work done. Now, speaking of the types of system software, there are four basic categories under which system software can be classified. These are:-

* The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) or boot loader which defines the firmware interface and loads the OS;
* The device firmware that controls the operation and performance of the computer hardware;
* The operating system (OS) which allows the user to interact with the hardware and get the desired outcome by carrying data between RAM and storage disks, displaying the desired result on the output device (monitor/ LCD) and by acting as the platform to allow various other system and application software to run on the computing device;
* Various utility software that regulate the computer functionality by analyzing its performance, configuring and optimizing its processes and, thereby, carrying out system maintenance functions.

Different Types of System Software Programs

A system software is a collection of software programs that enable the user to interact with the computing device without getting lost among the complexities of technical interactions between mechanical parts and machine-oriented codified programs. These programs are the building blocks that construct the entire system software architecture including the parts that regulate input/output functions, those that provide application software platforms and the various different types of operating system software component programs. Let’s take a look at some basic system software programs that form the building blocks of the desired user-functionalities of a computing device.

Boot Firmware: Also known as boot loaders these programs are the first ones to run when a PC is started. A boot loader loads and runs the main operating system on the computer when it starts. This system software component is also known as BIOS on IBM compatible computing devices.

Database Management Systems: This is a set of programs that manage and regulate the user database right from creation to maintenance and extending to the use of such database. The DBMS is responsible for allowing different user applications to access a single database at the same time. This set of programs is what lies at the base of all computer network models that enable users to retrieve data from an integrated collection in a structured manner and does away with the user having to write complex programs in machine language to extract information from the data pool.

Output Interface: This program determines whether the desktop environment will be in the form of a character user interface (CUI as seen on DOS and older OS versions) or if it will be in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI as seen from latest OS, a norm made common by Windows). Also, besides determining the desktop environment, these programs also provide various options that allow the user to access other features of the OS from the desktop.

Virtual Machine Monitors: Also known as hypervisors, these programs allow multiple operating systems to run on a single host computer system simultaneously. These other computer systems that access the host are known as guests and the host is able to allow multiple operating systems to run simultaneously under the hardware virtualization process.

Link Editors: Commonly known as linkers, link editors collect multiple object files that the compiler programs, generate and put them together as an executable program which is capable of performing desired tasks as instructed by codified instructions.

Loaders: A loader is an inbuilt component of the operating system that loads programs onto the computer memory and makes them ready for execution. This process involves loading the program text from the executable file onto the computer memory and preparing the executable file to run. This is one of the various initial stages involved in running any program on the operating system.

Shell: Shells are programs that make the interaction between the kernel of the OS and the user possible. It is the outer layer of a computing interface that makes information interchange between the OS and the user possible.

Utility Software: These programs offer the various maintenance and performance evaluation utility tools to configure and optimize the various processes that influence the performance of your computer. Disk cleaners, anti virus software, data compression programs, disk drive partition utilities, storage, backup and archiving programs are some of the common examples of utility software.

I am sure this brief discussion of the various types of system software and the different kinds of software programs helped clarify a few things regarding the basic software/program architecture of a standard computing system. System software consists of those basic sets of programs that are essential for a computing device to run the most elementary function – establish interaction between the user and the device so as to make exchange of instructions and outputs possible. Also, various system software components also make sure that the computer system is kept under such a condition that this elementary function can be carried out without any sort of disruption.