Computer - Software

Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined function. A program is a sequence of
instructions written to solve a particular problem.
There are two types of software −
 System Software Application Software
System Software
The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control, and extend the processing capabilities of
the computer itself. System software is generally prepared by the computer manufacturers. These software products
comprise of programs written in low-level languages, which interact with the hardware at a very basic level. System
software serves as the interface between the hardware and the end users.
Some examples of system software are Operating System, Compilers, Interpreter, Assemblers, etc.
Here is a list of some of the most prominent features of a system software −
 Close to the system Fast in speed Difficult to design Difficult to understand
 Less interactive Smaller in size Difficult to manipulate
 Generally written in low-level language
Application Software
Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a particular environment. All software
applications prepared in the computer lab can come under the category of Application software.
Application software may consist of a single program, such as Microsoft's notepad for writing and editing a simple text.
It may also consist of a collection of programs, often called a software package, which work together to accomplish a
task, such as a spreadsheet package.
Examples of Application software are the following −
 Payroll Software Student Record Software Inventory Management Software
 Income Tax Software Railways Reservation Software
 Microsoft Office Suite Software Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel Microsoft PowerPoint
Features of application software are as follows −
 Close to the user Easy to design More interactive Slow in speed
 Generally written in high-level language Easy to understand Easy to manipulate and use
 Bigger in size and requires large storage space
Operating System
An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware. An operating system is a
software which performs all the basic tasks like file management, memory management, process management,
handling input and output, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows Operating System, VMS, OS/400, AIX,
z/OS, etc.
Definition
An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the user and the computer hardware and controls
the execution of all kinds of programs.
Following are some of important functions of an operating System.
 Memory Management Processor Management Device Management
 File Management Security Control over system performance
 Job accounting Error detecting aids Coordination between other software and users
Memory Management
Memory management refers to management of Primary Memory or Main Memory. Main memory is a large array of
words or bytes where each word or byte has its own address.
Main memory provides a fast storage that can be accessed directly by the CPU. For a program to be executed, it must
in the main memory. An Operating System does the following activities for memory management −
  Keeps tracks of primary memory, i.e., what part of it are in use by whom, what part are not in use.
 In multiprogramming, the OS decides which process will get memory when and how much.
 Allocates the memory when a process requests it to do so.
 De-allocates the memory when a process no longer needs it or has been terminated.
Processor Management
In multiprogramming environment, the OS decides which process gets the processor when and for how much time.
This function is called process scheduling. An Operating System does the following activities for processor
management −
 Keeps tracks of processor and status of process. The program responsible for this task is known as traffic
controller.
 Allocates the processor (CPU) to a process.
 De-allocates processor when a process is no longer required.
Device Management
An Operating System manages device communication via their respective drivers. It does the following activities for
device management −
 Keeps tracks of all devices. Program responsible for this task is known as the I/O controller.
 Decides which process gets the device when and for how much time.
 Allocates the device in the efficient way.
 De-allocates devices.
File Management
A file system is normally organized into directories for easy navigation and usage. These directories may contain files
and other directions.
An Operating System does the following activities for file management −
 Keeps track of information, location, uses, status etc. The collective facilities are often known as file system.
 Decides who gets the resources.
 Allocates the resources.
 De-allocates the resources.
Other Important Activities
Following are some of the important activities that an Operating System performs −
 Security − By means of password and similar other techniques, it prevents unauthorized access to programs
and data.
 Control over system performance − Recording delays between request for a service and response from the
system.
 Job accounting − Keeping track of time and resources used by various jobs and users.
 Error detecting aids − Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and other debugging and error detecting
aids.
 Coordination between other softwares and users − Coordination and assignment of compilers, interpreters,
assemblers and other software to the various users of the computer systems.
Language Processors
Assembly language is machine dependent yet mnemonics that are being used to represent instructions in it are not directly
understandable by machine and high Level language is machine independent. A computer understands instructions in
machine code, i.e. in the form of 0s and 1s. It is a tedious task to write a computer program directly in machine code. The
programs are written mostly in high level languages like Java, C++, Python etc. and are called source code. These source
code cannot be executed directly by the computer and must be converted into machine language to be executed. Hence, a
special translator system software is used to translate the program written in high-level language into machine code is
called Language Processor and the program after translated into machine code (object program / object code).
The language processors can be any of the following three types:
1. Compiler
The language processor that reads the complete source program written in high level language as a whole in one
go and translates it into an equivalent program in machine language is called as a Compiler.
Example: C, C++, C#, Java
In a compiler, the source code is translated to object code successfully if it is free of errors. The compiler specifies the
errors at the end of compilation with line numbers when there are any errors in the source code. The errors must be
removed before the compiler can successfully recompile the source code again.>
2. Assembler
The Assembler is used to translate the program written in Assembly language into machine code. The source
 program is a input of assembler that contains assembly language instructions. The output generated by
assembler is the object code or machine code understandable by the computer.
3. Interpreter –
The translation of single statement of source program into machine code is done by language processor and
executes it immediately before moving on to the next line is called an interpreter. If there is an error in the
statement, the interpreter terminates its translating process at that statement and displays an error message.
The interpreter moves on to the next line for execution only after removal of the error. An Interpreter directly
executes instructions written in a programming or scripting language without previously converting them to an
object code or machine code.
Example: Perl, Python and Matlab.
4. Difference between Compiler and Interpreter
COMPILER INTERPRETER

1. A compiler is a program which converts the entire source interpreter takes a source program and runs it

code of a programming language into executable machine code line by line, translating each line as it comes to

for a CPU. it.

2. Compiler takes large amount of time to analyze the entire Interpreter takes less amount of time to

source code but the overall execution time of the program is analyze the source code but the overall

comparatively faster. execution time of the program is slower.

3. Compiler generates the error message only after scanning

the whole program, so debugging is comparatively hard as the Its Debugging is easier as it continues

error can be present any where in the program. translating the program until the error is met

4. Generates intermediate object code. No intermediate object code is generated.

5. Examples: C, C++, Java Examples: Python, Perl