Computer Software

Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. In other words, software is a conceptual entity which is a set of computer programs, procedures, and associated documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. We can also say software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. In other words software is algorithms and its documentation. a set of programs, procedures,

The term was coined to contrast to the old term hardware (meaning physical devices). In contrast to hardware,software is intangible, meaning it "cannot be touched". Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records. There are different types of computer software. What are their major types? Let us see. I. System Software: It helps in running the computer hardware and the computer system. System software is a collection of operating systems; device drivers, servers, windowing systems and utilities. System software helps an application programmer in abstracting away from hardware, memory and other internal complexities of a computer. II. Application Software: It enables the end users to accomplish certain specific tasks. Business software, databases and educational software are some forms of application software. Different word processors, which are dedicated for specialized tasks to be performed by the user, are other examples of application software. Apart from these three basic types of software, there are some other wellknown forms of computer software like inventory management software, ERP, utility software, accounting software and others. Take a look at some of them.

Different Types of Application Software What is application software? What are the different types of application software? Know it all along with some interesting examples of application software. What is Application Software? Application software utilizes the capacities of a computer directly to a dedicated task. Application software is able to manipulate text, numbers and graphics. It can be in the form of software focused on a certain single task like word processing, spreadsheet or playing of audio and video files. Different Types of Application Software 1. Word Processing Software: This software enables the users to create and edit documents. The most popular examples of this type of software are MS-Word, WordPad, Notepad and some other text editors. 2. Database Software: Database is a structured collection of data. A computer database relies on database software to organize the data and enable the database users to achieve database operations. Database software allows the users to store and retrieve data from databases. Examples are Oracle, MS Access, etc. 3. Spreadsheet Software: Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 and Apple Numbers are some examples of spreadsheet software. Spreadsheet software allows users to perform calculations. They simulate paper worksheets by displaying multiple cells that make up a grid. 4. Multimedia Software: They allow the users to create and play audio and video media. They are capable of playing media files. Audio converters, players, burners, video encoders and decoders are some forms of multimedia software. Examples of this type of software include Real Player and Media Player. 5. Presentation Software: The software that is used to display information in the form of a slide show is known as presentation software. This type of software includes three functions, namely, editing that allows insertion and formatting of text, methods to include graphics in the text and a functionality of executing the slide shows. Microsoft PowerPoint is the best example of presentation software.

How to install a software program? This is a basic overview on how to install software programs, games, and utilities on your computer. Installing a software program can depend on the operating system being used and the program being installed. Because of all the different possibilities, we have created the below steps as guidelines for installing programs in each of the major operating systems. General Tips

After

Make sure your computer meets the requirements of the program, game, or utility you are attempting to install. The manuals for the program or the readme file located in the same directory as the install commonly contain exact instructions on how to install a program. After installing or during the installation, a program may need to install other programs, files, or utilities before it is able to run. If this is the case, the program will commonly prompt you to install the program or you may need to run a separate install before the program can be fully used. When installing a program, utility, or game, it is always a good idea first to close or disable any other programs that are running. installing a new program if it prompts you to reboot the computer, do it. changes will affect your upgrade needs. The five software upgrade plans 1. Categorize and prioritize The first step in putting together your upgrade plan is to categorize and prioritize potential upgrades. Some categories of upgrade items include: Operating System Client software Server software Word Processing Database software

Graphics software Device drivers Etc.

. Set priorities Once youve identified the categories, you can prioritize them based on the cost/benefits ratio of upgrading a particular category. What items are serving as the bottlenecks that keep work from getting done as efficiently as it could with newer software? Identify the software that doesnt anymore meet the work demands or there might be new software highly needed in the business operations. Of course, in real life your upgrade priorities may not always be based strictly on need. If the big boss wants the top of the line software, theres a good chance he/she will get it. In general, though, dont over-upgrade. Plan to give your users the software thats required to most effectively perform their job tasks and no more.

3. Consider dependencies Upgrading some categories may be dependent on first upgrading other categories. For example, you may not be able to upgrade your productivity applications until you first upgrade the operating systems and you might not be able to upgrade the operating systems until youve upgraded the hardware. In upgrading or installing new software, you need to also check the hardware requirements.

It can work the other way, too; if you upgrade the operating system, you might be forced to upgrade the productivity application because the old version doesnt run well (or at all) on the new operating system. These dependencies affect your upgrade priorities and timeliness.

4. Phased rollout Once youve decided to upgrade a particular category, you shouldnt jump in feet first and roll out the upgrade to every system or device in that category. What if the upgrade causes major problems that make systems or the network unusable? The most prudent strategy is to rollout each upgrade in phases. Test it first in a non-production environment. This gives you a chance to work the bugs out without any impact on employee productivity.

Next, select a pilot group to test the upgrades in the production environment. If the new hardware or software entails a learning curve, roll it out first to power users, those who are more technically savvy and thus better able to handle the new way of doing things without overwhelming your support staff. Once theyve mastered it, theyll serve as a resource for helping other users make the transition when you roll it out to the rest of the department or the rest of the company.

5. Keeping it scalable Your upgrade plan should be set out in writing, and you should get input from different departments and different levels to help you create a plan that will create the least disruption and proceed smoothly. Upgrading can be costly and traumatic, but sooner or later its inevitable. Proper planning, with scalability in mind, can make the difference between a smooth deployment of nifty new and needed software and an upgrade disaster. Software license A software license (or software license in commonwealth usage) is a legal instrument (usually by way of contract law) governing the usage or redistribution of software. All software is copyright protected, except material in the public domain. Contractual confidentiality is another way of protecting software. A typical software license grants an end-user permission to use one or more copies of software in ways where such a use would otherwise constitute copyright infringement of the software owner's exclusive rights under copyright law. The license terms are often enforced by a builtin license manager. Some software comes with the license when purchased off the shelf or an OEM license when bundled with hardware. Software can also be in the form of freeware or shareware. Software licenses can generally be fit into the following categories: proprietary licenses free and open source licenses, which include free software licenses and other open source licenses. The features that distinguish them are significant in terms of the effect they have on the end-user's rights.

A free open source license makes software free for inspection of its code, modification, and distribution. Some free licenses, like the GNU General Public License, allow the product and/or derivative to be commercially sold. Product key A product key, also known as a CD key, is a specific software-based key for a computer program. It certifies that the copy of the program is original. Activation is sometimes done offline by entering the key, or with software like Windows XP online activation is required to prevent multiple people using the same key. Computer games use product keys to verify that the game has not been illegally copied; for example, one could not play Battle.net powered games such as Diablo II or Star Craft online without an original/unique product key. Likewise, one is not allowed to play online with two identical product keys at the same time. What means Upgrading? The term upgrade refers to the replacement of a product with a newer version of the same product. It is most often used in computing and consumer electronics, generally meaning a replacement of hardware, software or firmware with a newer or better version, in order to bring the system up to date. Common hardware upgrades include (for example) installing additional memory (RAM), adding larger hard disks, replacing microprocessor cards or graphics cards, and installing new versions of software. Many other upgrades are often possible as well. Common software upgrades include changing the version of an operating system, of an office suite, of an anti-virus program, or of various other tools. Users can often download software from the Internet. When one replaces a product made by one supplier with a product made by a different supplier, one carries out a competitive upgrade. INSTALLING SOFTWARE APPLICATION Computer Program(Application software) Installation Some software can be executed by simply copying it to a computer and executing it with no further ado; no installation procedure as such is required. Other programs are supplied in a form not suitable for immediate execution, and require an installation procedure. Installation may include unpacking of files supplied in a compressed form, copying them to suitable locations, tailoring the software to suit the hardware and the user's preferences, providing information about the program to the operating system, and so on. The installer may test for system suitability and available mass storage space. Some software is designed to be installed simply by copying their files to the desired location, and there is no formal installation process. This was once usual for many programs running under MS-DOS, Mac OS, Atari TOS, and Amiga OS. This is the "de facto" standard in Mac OS X applications and is also used for many Windows applications. Windows applications that do not require installation are often times called "portable," as they do not require an installation to run, and

may be run for many different computers with only the executable. There are versions of some operating systems which do not require installation and can be run directly from a bootable CD, DVD, or USB drive. This allows one to test out the operating system without altering the existing setup. Installation usually implies that once installed, the program can be executed again and again, without the need to reinstall before each execution. Some software does not need installation at all. There is server-based software that mimics locallyinstalled software, and can be run inside of a web browser, using only the local system's cache. This allows portability among computers with access to the server. This technique is often referred to as cloud computing. Computer Software Installation The operating system of your computer is an important factor to be considered when you install any software. The operating system is the program that is contrived to run the computer software on your computer. The operating system is responsible for managing the computer software and hardware. Before you install a computer software, the first important step is to check the configuration of your computer. Also, check the hardware and software requirement of the software you are installing. The configuration of your computer must match the requirements of the software to be installed. Sometimes, the software to be installed is compressed in a .RAR or .ZIP file. In these cases, before you install the software you have to uncompress all the installation files and folders. To uncompress the files and folders, ensure that you have a decompression software application installed on your computer. Every computer software comes with a 'Read me' file. This 'Read me' file contains all the instructions that are required to install the software on your computer. Sometimes, when you install a software, the software may ask you to install another program that is required for the proper execution of the software to be installed. The computer may even prompt you to install the supporting software after you complete the installation. When you install any software program on the computer, it is advisable to close all other programs and utilities. Some antivirus software applications may require you to turn off the firewall and disable the antivirus in order to install the software. When installing software applications related to computer networking or web browsing, it is recommended to disable the antivirus and the firewall. Finally, to complete the installation, restart your computer system.