ASSIGNMENT

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN RESEARCH

Program Vs Software, Introduction to Software Engineering

FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

AJAY VAID
RESEARCH SCHOLAR

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

RIMT UNIVERSITY, MANDI GOBINDGARH, PUNJAB
 Program Vs Software
Many people equate the term software with computer programs. Programs are
developed by individuals for their personal use. They are generally, small in
size and have limited functionality. The author of a program himself uses and
maintains his program, these usually do not have a good user interface and lack
of proper documentation. Whereas Software products have multiple users and
therefore should have a good user interface, proper operating procedures, and
good documentation support.

Since a Software product has a large no of users, it must be properly designed,

carefully implemented and properly tested. Any program is a subset of
software and it becomes software only if documentation and operating
procedure manuals are prepared. Program consists of a set of instructions which
is a combination of source code and object code.
Documentation consists of various varieties of manuals as shown below:
Operating procedures consist of instructions to set up and use the system and
instructions on how to meet the system failure.
Generally software products are too large and they cannot be developed by a
single programmer. Therefore, Software products are developed by a group of
software engineers. Software Engineers are concerned with developing a
software product, whereas programmers are concerned with writing programs.
Development of the software product requires a well-defined and systematic
methodology, without which a software development team would not be able to
produce an appropriate software product.

What Is A Computer Program?

A computer program is a collection of instructions that performs a specific task
when executed by a computer. Most computer devices require programs to
function properly. A computer program is usually written by a computer
programmer in a programming language. Once it is written, the programmer
uses a compiler to turn it into a language that the computer can understand.

A computer program is stored as a file on the computer’s hard drive. When the
user runs the program, the file is read by the computer, and the processor reads
the data in the file as a list of instructions. Then the computer does what the
program tells it to do.
What You Need To Know About Program
1. Program is a set of instructions written in a programming language
used to execute for a specific task or particular function.
2. A program does not have further categorization.
3. A program cannot be software.
4. A program consists of a set of instructions which are coded in a
programming language like c, C++, PHP, Java etc.
5. Programs do not have a user interface.
6. A program is developed and used by either a single programmer or a
group of programmers.
7. A program is compiled every time when we need to generate some
output from it.
8. Program has limited functionality and less features.
9. Program functionality is dependent on compiler.
10.A program takes less time to build/make.
11.Program development approach is un-procedural, un-organized and
unplanned.
12.The size of a program ranges from kilobytes (Kb) to megabytes (Mb).
13.Examples of computer programs include: Operating system, office
suite, video games, malware, a web browser like Mozilla Firefox and
Apple Safari.

What Is A Computer Software?

Computer software popularly referred to as software, is a set of instructions,
data or programs used to operate computers and execute specific tasks. It
includes all programs on a computer such as applications and the operating
system. Software is often divided into three categories:

• Application software. This is intended to perform certain tasks.

Examples of application software include office suites, gaming
applications, database systems and educational software.
• Programming Software. Programming software is a set of tools to aid
developers in writing programs. The various tools available are
compilers, linkers, debuggers, interpreters and text editors.
• System Software. System software act as a base for application software.
Examples include device drivers, operating systems, compilers, disk
formatters, text editors and utilities helping the computer to operate
more efficiently. System software is usually written in C programming
language.
Classification of Software
The software is used extensively in several domains including hospitals, banks,
schools, defence, finance, stock markets and so on. It can be categorized into
different types:

On the basis of application:

1. System Software –
System Software is necessary to manage the computer resources and support
the execution of application programs. Software like operating systems,
compilers, editors and drivers etc., come under this category. A computer
cannot function without the presence of these. Operating systems are needed
to link the machine dependent needs of a program with the capabilities of the
machine on which it runs. Compilers translate programs from high-level
language to machine language.

2. Networking and Web Applications Software –

Networking Software provides the required support necessary for computers
to interact with each other and with data storage facilities. The networking
software is also used when software is running on a network of computers
(such as World Wide Web). It includes all network management software,
server software, security and encryption software and software to develop
web-based applications like HTML, PHP, XML, etc.

3. Embedded Software –
This type of software is embedded into the hardware normally in the Read
Only Memory (ROM) as a part of a large system and is used to support
certain functionality under the control conditions. Examples are software
used in instrumentation and control applications like washing machines,
satellites, microwaves etc.

4. Reservation Software –
A Reservation system is primarily used to store and retrieve information and
perform transactions related to air travel, car rental, hotels, or other activities.
They also provide access to bus and railway reservations, although these are
not always integrated with the main system. These are also used to relay
 computerized information for users in the hotel industry, making a
reservation and ensuring that the hotel is not overbooked.

5. Business Software –
This category of software is used to support the business applications and is
the most widely used category of software. Examples are software for
inventory management, accounts, banking, hospitals, schools, stock markets,
etc.

6. Entertainment Software –
Education and entertainment software provides a powerful tool for
educational agencies, especially those that deal with educating young
children. There is a wide range of entertainment software such as computer
games, educational games, translation software, mapping software, etc.

7. Artificial Intelligence Software –

Software like expert systems, decision support systems, pattern recognition
software, artificial neural networks, etc. come under this category. They
involve complex problems which are not affected by complex computations
using non-numerical algorithms.

8. Scientific Software –
Scientific and engineering software satisfies the needs of a scientific or
engineering user to perform enterprise specific tasks. Such software is written
for specific applications using principles, techniques and formulae specific to
that field. Examples are software like MATLAB, AUTOCAD, PSPICE,
ORCAD, etc.

9. Utilities Software –
The programs coming under this category perform specific tasks and are
different from other software in terms of size, cost and complexity. Examples
are anti-virus software, voice recognition software, compression programs,
etc.

10.Document Management Software –

A Document Management Software is used to track, manage and store
documents in order to reduce the paperwork. Such systems are capable of
keeping a record of the various versions created and modified by different
users (history tracking). They commonly provide storage, versioning,
metadata, security, as well as indexing and retrieval capabilities.
On the basis of copyright:

1. Commercial –
It represents the majority of software which we purchase from software
companies, commercial computer stores, etc. In this case, when a user buys a
software, they acquire a license key to use it. Users are not allowed to make
the copies of the software. The copyright of the program is owned by the
company.

2. Shareware –
Shareware software is also covered under copyright but the purchasers are
allowed to make and distribute copies with the condition that after testing the
software, if the purchaser adopts it for use, then they must pay for it.
In both of the above types of software, changes to software are not allowed.

3. Freeware –
In general, according to freeware software licenses, copies of the software
can be made both for archival and distribution purposes but here, distribution
cannot be for making a profit. Derivative works and modifications to the
software are allowed and encouraged. Decompiling of the program code is
also allowed without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

4. Public Domain –
In case of public domain software, the original copyright holder explicitly
relinquishes all rights to the software. Hence software copies can be made
both for archival and distribution purposes with no restrictions on
distribution. Modifications to the software and reverse engineering are also
allowed.

What You Need To Know About Software

1. Software is a collection of several programs and other procedures and
documentation.
2. Software can be categorized into two categories: application software
and system software.
3. Software can be a program.
4. Software consists of bundles of programs and data files. Programs in
specific software use these data files to perform a dedicated type of
tasks.
 5. Every software has a dedicated user interface. The user interface of
software may be in the form of a command prompt or in a graphical
format.
6. Software is developed by either a single programmer or a group of
programmers.
7. Whole software is compiled, tested and debugged during the
development process.
8. Software has lots of functionality and features such as GUI,
input/output data, process etc.
9. Software functionality is dependent on the operating system.
10.Software takes relatively more time to build/make when compared to
program.
11.Software development approach is systematic, organized and very well
planned.
12.The size of a software ranges from megabytes (Mb) to Gigabytes (Gb).
13.Examples of software include: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, VLC
media player, Firefox, Adobe Reader, Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac etc.

PROGRAM VS SOFTWARE IN TABULAR FORM

BASIS OF
PROGRAM SOFTWARE
COMPARISON

Program is a set of Program is a set of

instructions written in instructions written in
a programming a programming
Description language used to language used to
execute for a specific execute for a specific
task or particular task or particular
function. function.

Software can be
A program does not categorized into two
Categories have further categories: application
categorization. software and system
software.

A program cannot be Software can be a

Flexibility
software. program.
 Software consists of
A program consists of bundles of programs
a set of instructions and data files.
which are coded in a Programs in specific
Consists Of
programming software use these
language like c, C++, data files to perform a
PHP, Java etc. dedicated type of
tasks.

Every software has a

Programs do not have
User Interface dedicated user
a user interface.
interface.

A program is
Software is developed
developed and used
by either a single
by either a single
Development programmer or a
programmer or a
group of
group of
programmers.
programmers.

A program is Whole software is

compiled every time compiled, tested and
Compilation when we need to debugged during the
generate some output development process.
from it.

Software has lots of

Program has limited functionality and
Functionality &
functionality and less features such as GUI,
Features
features. input/output data,
process etc.

Program functionality Software functionality

Dependability is dependent on is dependent on the
compiler. operating system.

Software takes
relatively more time to
A program takes less
Creation Time build/make when
time to build/make.
compared to program.
 Program development Software development
approach is un- approach is
Development
procedural, un- systematic, organized
Approach
organized and and very well planned.
unplanned.

The size of a program The size of a software

ranges from kilobytes ranges from
Size
(Kb) to megabytes megabytes (Mb) to
(Mb). Gigabytes (Gb).

Operating system, Microsoft Word,

office suite, video Microsoft Excel, VLC
games, malware, a media player, Firefox,
Examples
web browser like Adobe Reader,
Mozilla Firefox and Windows, Linux,
Apple Safari. Unix, Mac etc.

Software Engineering | Introduction to Software

Engineering
Software is a program or set of programs containing instructions which provide
desired functionality . And Engineering is the processes of designing and
building something that serves a particular purpose and find a cost effective
solution to problems.

Software Engineering is a systematic approach to the design, development,

operation, and maintenance of a software system. It is the systematic application
of engineering approaches to the development of software.
Software engineering is a branch of computer science which includes the
development and building of computer systems software and
applications software. Computer systems software is composed of programs
that include computing utilities and operations systems.
Dual Role of Software:

1. As a product –

• It delivers the computing potential across network of Hardware.

• It enables the Hardware to deliver the expected functionality.
• It acts as information transformer because it produces, manages, acquires,
modifies, displays, or transmits information.

2. As a vehicle for delivering a product –

• It provides system functionality (e.g., payroll system)

• It controls other software (e.g., an operating system)
• It helps build other software (e.g., software tools)

Objectives of Software Engineering:

1. Maintainability – It should be feasible for the software to evolve to meet
changing requirements.
2. Efficiency – The software should not make wasteful use of computing
devices such as memory, processor cycles etc..
3. Correctness – A software product is correct, if the different requirements as
specified in the SRS document have been correctly implemented.
4. Reusability – A software product has good reusability, if the different
modules of the product can easily be reused to develop new products.
5. Testability – Here software facilitates both the establishment of test criteria
and the evaluation of the software with respect to those criteria.
6. Reliability – It is an attribute of software quality. The extent to which a
program can be expected to perform its desired function, over an arbitrary
time period.
7. Portability – In this case, software can be transferred from one computer
system or environment to another.
8. Adaptability – In this case, software allows differing system constraints and
user needs to be satisfied by making changes to the software.
9. Interoperability – Capability of 2 or more functional units to process data
cooperatively.
#References

V.Rajaraman and Neeharika Adabala,Sixth Edition Fundamentals of COMPUTERS

E BALAGURUSAMY, COMPUTER PROGRAMMING

C.Xavler, INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS AND BASIC PROGRAMMING

Leland L.Beck and D.Manjula , PEARSON THIRD EDITION, System Software: AN INTRODUCTION TO
SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING

Sanjay Silakari and Rajesh K.Shukla , Basic computer Engineering