Computer Software Programs

A computer's software is a program (or a collection of programs) that provide instructions which tell a computer what to do. Computer software can provide just one task, or multiple tasks.

For example, a software program designed to edit photos has one main task (e.g. photo editing); naturally though, it'd also have numerous sub-tasks (for example, color correction, cropping an image and red eye removal).

An internet browser allows you to view website pages, but it also has a range of sub-tasks allowing you to interact with the websites too (such as for viewing an o2 phone bill, checking a bank statement, or ordering goods online). These various sub-tasks add to a software's versatility, and even though they're sub-tasks, they can be just as important as the principal task.

Conversely, an operating system (the complex piece of software which essentially runs the entire computer system) would have multiple main tasks such as handling user input and output, managing the computer's hardware (the components which power a computer), memory allocation and a lot more.

Software programs can be put into two main groups: application software and systems software. Software which allows one main task to be carried out (for example, a program designed to edit photos, as in the above example) would be application software, whereas systems software refers to complex, multi-task programs which help run the system: such as an operating system.

These two main types of computer software programs are explained in more detail below:

Application Software

Screenshot of a popular browser, internet explorer Internet Explorer 8, a website browser - a type of application software

Application software is installed on an operating system (see "Systems Software" below). And as mentioned above, application software tends to perform one main task. A good example of application software would be a website browser; this is the program you are using right now to access this website (for example, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc). A browser's main task is to allow you to surf the internet.

Other popular types of application software - with specific examples - can be found below:

  • Word Processing (for example Open Office or Microsoft Office Word) - Allows you to type up documents and letters
  • Antivirus Software (for example, AVG, Kaspersky Anti-Virus or Norton Anti-Virus) - Helps protect your computer system against malicious programs called viruses
  • Photo Editing (for example, Corel PaintShop, Adobe Photoshop or Paint.net) - Can be used to edit photos and other digital images

Systems Software

Screenshot of a popular operating system called Windows 7 Microsoft Windows 7 - an operating system which is the main type of systems software

Systems software is at the very core of any computer system. Without it, a computer couldn't really function properly. Roughly speaking, systems software manages all aspects of a computer system. The main example of systems software is the operating system - the software that your computer loads up when you switch it on, and which all application software is installed upon. Examples include Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista, 7, etc), Apple Mac OS X and Linux.

Other types of systems software are described below:

  • Device Drivers are pieces of software which allow hardware components to function correctly inside the system. They mainly operate 'in the background' hence it's likely that an average user wouldn't have any contact with the drivers themselves.
  • Utilities - also called 'Utility tools' - are tools which help check, analyze, monitor and maintain different parts of the computer. They usually come pre-installed with an operating system. An example would be 'Disk Defragment' or 'Disk Cleanup' on Windows-based systems.

As the following list shows, this category has various topics relating to software programs, such as information about the best antivirus software (antivirus protection is critical to your computer's health and safety), photo editing software and more.

See the following for further information about a computer's software: