What is Software?

The word "software" was first used by John W. Tukey in 1958. The Software or computer programs are generally based on programming language, Scripting language, microcode, or an FPGA Configuration. Software performs their action on giving the commands which in turn are the terms that we use in our day-to-day life.

There are various forms of Software that can be used on the computer like Adobe Photoshop, various versions of Adobe Reader, Jasc Paint Shop Pro., SAP software, Adobe Illustrator, Arcsoft PhotoStudio, Corel Draw, PrintShop Photo and many more. The various Software companies which are well known and active in this field are Microsoft, Oracle, Novell, SAP, Adobe System, Corel, Free Software Foundation, GNU Project, Mozilla Foundation, etc.

There are different categories of Software like: -
(a) System Software which helps the computer hardware and computer system to run properly. It helps the programmer to get rid of the various complex and technical features of the computer like memory, printers, readers, keyboards and many more. Examples of System Software include Windows XP, Linux, Mac, etc.
(b) Application Software which helps to perform the specific work that is not related to computer. Examples of Application Software include Industrial Software, Educational Software, Medical Software, Military Software, Computer Games, Image Editing and many more.
(c) Programming Software which helps in writing computer programs and software in different programming languages using text editors, compilers, interpreters, linkers, debuggers, etc.

There are wide ranges of Software applications like Finance, Business, Mathematics, Space Exploration, Gaming, Mining, Searching, Virus Scanning, etc. However like other products Software can also be patented. Before using any Software one must check the Software’s License also which may or may not give the user right for modification.