|
Software
Computer software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform some task on a computer system. more...
Home
Accessories, Parts
Accessory Bundles, Packages
Antennas
Batteries
Belt Clips, Holsters
Camera Attachments
Car Kits & Car Chargers
Cases, Pouches
Cradles, Cradle Chargers
Data Cables
Faceplates, Housings
Headsets-Corded
Keyboards
Keypads
LCD Screens
Manuals, User Guides
Memory Cards
Modems
Mounts, Holders
Other Accessories
Ringtones & Wallpaper
Screen Protectors
Software
Audiovox
HP/Compaq
Kyocera, Qualcomm
LG, Touchpoint
Motorola
Nokia
Other Brands
Palm One, Handspring
Panasonic
RIM Blackberry
Samsung
Sanyo
Siemens
Sony, Ericsson
Speakerphones
Straps & Charms
Styluses
Tools, Screwdrivers
Travel Chargers, Wall...
Unlocking Kits, Services
Bluetooth Wireless...
Cell Phones
PDAs & Pocket PCs
Phone & SIM Cards
Smartphones
Wholesale & Large Lots
The term includes application software such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users, system software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for application software, and middleware which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.
Terminology
The term "software" is sometimes used in a broader context to describe any electronic media content which embodies expressions of ideas such as film, tapes, records, etc.
Relationship to computer hardware
-
Computer software is so called in contrast to computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. In computers, software is loaded into RAM and executed in the central processing unit. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions (object code), which change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It 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 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 assembler.
The term "software" was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1958. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer programs. The concept of reading different sequences of instructions into the memory of a device to control computations was invented by Charles Babbage as part of his difference engine. The theory that is the basis for most modern software was first proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem.
Types
Practical computer systems divide software systems into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
|
|