Basics of Computers - Software Concepts PDF

3/2/23, 2:16 PM Basics of Computers - Software Concepts
Basics of Computers - Software Concepts
As you know, the hardware devices need user instructions to function. A set of instructions that
achieve a single outcome are called program or procedure. Many programs functioning together to
do a task make a software.
For example, a word-processing software enables the user to create, edit and save documents. A
web browser enables the user to view and share web pages and multimedia files. There are two
categories of software −
System Software
Application Software
Utility Software
Let us discuss them in detail.
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/basics_of_computers/basics_of_computers_software_concepts.htm 1/4
System Software
Software required to run the hardware parts of the computer and other application software are
called system software. System software acts as interface between hardware and user
applications. An interface is needed because hardware devices or machines and humans speak in
different languages.
Machines understand only binary language i.e. 0 (absence of electric signal) and 1 (presence of
electric signal) while humans speak in English, French, German, Tamil, Hindi and many other
languages. English is the pre-dominant language of interacting with computers. Software is required
to convert all human instructions into machine understandable instructions. And this is exactly what
system software does.
Based on its function, system software is of four types −
Operating System
Language Processor
Device Drivers
Operating System
System software that is responsible for functioning of all hardware parts and their interoperability to
carry out tasks successfully is called operating system (OS). OS is the first software to be loaded
into computer memory when the computer is switched on and this is called booting. OS manages a
computer’s basic functions like storing data in memory, retrieving files from storage devices,
scheduling tasks based on priority, etc.
Language Processor
As discussed earlier, an important function of system software is to convert all user instructions into
machine understandable language. When we talk of human machine interactions, languages are of
three types −
Machine-level language − This language is nothing but a string of 0s and 1s that the
machines can understand. It is completely machine dependent.
Assembly-level language − This language introduces a layer of abstraction by defining
mnemonics. Mnemonics are English like words or symbols used to denote a long string of 0s
and 1s. For example, the word “READ” can be defined to mean that computer has to retrieve
data from the memory. The complete instruction will also tell the memory address. Assembly
level language is machine dependent.
High level language − This language uses English like statements and is completely
independent of machines. Programs written using high level languages are easy to create, read
and understand.
Program written in high level programming languages like Java, C++, etc. is called source code.
Set of instructions in machine readable form is called object code or machine code. System
software that converts source code to object code is called language processor. There are three
types of language interpreters−
Assembler − Converts assembly level program into machine level program.
Interpreter − Converts high level programs into machine level program line by line.
Compiler − Converts high level programs into machine level programs at one go rather than
line by line.
Device Drivers
System software that controls and monitors functioning of a specific device on computer is called
device driver. Each device like printer, scanner, microphone, speaker, etc. that needs to be
attached externally to the system has a specific driver associated with it. When you attach a new
device, you need to install its driver so that the OS knows how it needs to be managed.
Application Software
A software that performs a single task and nothing else is called application software. Application
software are very specialized in their function and approach to solving a problem. So a spreadsheet
software can only do operations with numbers and nothing else. A hospital management software
will manage hospital activities and nothing else. Here are some commonly used application software
−
Word processing
Spreadsheet
Presentation
Database management
Multimedia tools
Utility Software
Application software that assist system software in doing their work is called utility software. Thus
utility software is actually a cross between system software and application software. Examples of
utility software include −
Antivirus software
Disk management tools
File management tools

Compression tools
Backup tools

Basics of Computers - Software Concepts PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Basics of Computers - Software Concepts PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Basics of Computers - Software Concepts PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

3/2/23, 2:16 PM Basics of Computers - Software Concepts

Basics of Computers - Software Concepts

Let us discuss them in detail.

Based on its function, system software is of four types −

Assembler − Converts assembly level program into machine level program.

File management tools

You might also like