Software
| Author | Douglas Smith |
| Pages | 677-679 |
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Software refers to computer programs that are designed by a computer programmer or, more likely, a team of computer programmers, to perform a particular function. The software is either embedded in a device, such as a hand-held device or appliance, or installed on a computer.
Software comes in many different types for many different users. Examples of these types include the computer's disk operating system (DOS) software; user interface; programming software; browsers; entertainment software, such as gaming; communications software; and utility software, such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and publishing.
The hardware components of a computer need instructions to order to work transparently to the user. These instructions constitute the operating system of the computer, frequently referred to as DOS, and are the first files to be installed on a hard drive. Several of these files are hidden from the user to prevent file corruption. The instructions in these files inform the various components of the computer system about such tasks as recognition of components, communications, data processing, internal data transfer, and memory management. The operating system also includes utility programs such as media formatting, addition and deletion of new hardware and software, and printing queues.
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The operating system of a desktop computer is based on single-user design. When the computer is added to a computer network, another layer of computer operating system is required. This layer, referred to as the network operating system, instructs the computer about the presence of a network interface card installed in the computer and its address, and controls the flow of data and command traffic to and from the computer. This ability allows the computer to share peripherals on the network system and to access outside systems such as the Internet.
Operating systems are complicated and often not intuitive to the user. Therefore, a software program called a graphical user interface (GUI) runs over the operating system to make the operating system easier for the user to operate. More importantly, GUIs allow a "family" or "suite" of products to share the same screen and operational design, making the learning of new software much easier. For example, the screen-design menu system provides identical icons for common commands among software packages, such as save, print, spell-checking, help, and basic document formatting. Microsoft's Windows is an industry leader. The Microsoft Office Suite, for example, offers word processing, spreadsheets, publishing, and database software that share a common interface and, therefore, a...
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