Software and it's function

Software is the computerized instructions that operate the computer, execute particular functions or tasks, and manipulate the data. For software to perform various functions, it must be programmed. The instructions need to be written in a programming language that the computer can understand. Without a program, a computer is useless. Over the years, a wide range of programming languages have been developed, including BASIC, FORTRAN, PASCAL, C++, JAVA, and so on. Each language has a unique set of words or codes that it understands and a special syntax for organizing program instructions. The language the computer actually understands is called machine language, which comprises numbers only. This language is used by the computer to understand the programming language and translate the terms into executable instructions. Lying between programming languages and machine languages are assembly languages. Assembly languages have the same structure and set of commands as machine languages but they enable a program to use names instead of numbers.

There are different types of software.

Systems software: It includes the operating system and all the programmes that enable the computer to function. The most important program that runs on a computer is the operating system. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system in order to run other programs. This includes controlling functions such as the coordination of the hardware and applications software, allocating storage facilities, controlling the input and output devices and managing time sharing for linked or networked computers. In many respects an operating system works like an air traffic controller to coordinate activities within the computer. Examples of operating systems are Windows NT, DOS and OS/2.

Applications software: It includes programs that users access to carry out work. They include applications for the different functions. For example: Word Processing as a common application software to make it easy to manipulate and format documents, Database management applications to let people create and manipulate data in database, communication applications to enable people to send fax and emails to other computers.