Software

Software     

Computer Software, Or Just Software, Is Any Set Of Machine-Readable Instructions That Directs A Computer's Processor To Perform Specific Operations. The Term Is Used To Contrast With Computer Hardware, The Physical Objects (Processor And Related Devices) That Carry Out The Instructions. Computer Hardware And Software Require Each Other And Neither Can Be Realistically Used Without The Other.
Software Is A General Term. It Can Refer To All Computer Instructions In General, Or To Any Specific Set Of Computer Instructions. It Is Inclusive Of Both Machine Instructions (The Binary Code That The Processor "Understands") And Source Code (More Human-Understandable Instructions That Must Be Rendered Into Machine Code By Compilers Or Interpreters Before Being Executed).
Computer Software Is A Set Of Programs, Procedures, Functions, Associated Data And/Or Its Documentation, If Any. Program Software Performs The Function Of The Program It Implements, Either By Directly Providing Instructions To The Digital Electronics Or By Serving As An Input To Another Piece Of Software. Software Is Also Sometimes Used In A More Narrow Sense, Meaning Application Software Only.
Computer Software Is So Called To Distinguish It From Computer Hardware, Which Encompasses The Physical Devices And Interconnections Required To Store And Run ("Execute") The Software. In Contrast To Hardware, Executable Software Exists As Data In The Computer System And Hence "Cannot Be Touched", Just As The 3D Model Shown In The Illustration Cannot Be Touched.  At The Lowest Level, Executable Code Consists Of Machine Language Instructions Specific To An Individual Processor. A Machine Language Consists Of Groups Of Binary Values Signifying Processor Instructions That Change The State Of The Computer From Its Preceding State. For Example, An Instruction May Change The Value Stored In A Particular Storage Location Inside The Computer (An Effect That Is Not Directly Observable To The User), Or (Indirectly) Cause Something To Appear On A Display Of The Computer System (A State Change Which Should Be Visible To The User). The Processor Carries Out The Instructions In The Order They Are Provided, Unless It Is Instructed To "Jump" To A Different Instruction, Or Interrupted.

Software Is Usually Written In High-Level Programming Languages That Are Easier And More Efficient For Humans To Use (Closer To Natural Language) Than Machine Language. High-Level Languages Are Compiled Or Interpreted Into Machine Language Object Code. Software May Also Be Written In An Assembly Language, Essentially, A Mnemonic Representation Of A Machine Language Using A Natural Language Alphabet. Assembly Language Must Be Assembled Into Object Code Via An Assembler.

Facebook Advertising Software Video Tutorial 

Types of software 

Software Encompasses A Wide Array Of Products That May Be Developed Using Different Techniques Such As Ordinary Programming Languages, Microcode, Or An FPGA Configuration.
On Virtually All Computer Platforms, Software Can Be Grouped Into A Few Broad Categories:
• System Software Is Computer Software Designed To Operate The Computer Hardware, To Provide Basic Functionality, And To Provide A Platform For Running Application Software.  System Software Includes Device Drivers, Operating Systems, Servers, Utilities, And Window Systems.
• System Software Also Includes The Boot Firmware, Which Loads (Or In Some Cases Constitutes) The Operating System. Firmware Is Software That Has Been Permanently Stored In Hardware (Specifically, In Non-Volatile Memory). Thus, It Has Qualities Of Both Software And Hardware, But It Is Still Software.
• Application Software And Scripts Were Historically Defined As All The Software That Uses The Computer System To Perform Useful Work (Or Entertainment Functions) Beyond The Basic Operation Of The Computer Itself. However, In Practice The Distinction Between System Software And Application Software Is Often Blurred Due To Bundling Of Useful Applications With The Operating System.
• Application Software Includes Desktop Applications Such As Web Browsers And Microsoft Office, As Well As Smartphone And Tabletapplications (Called "Apps").
• Javascript Scripts Are Pieces Of Software Traditionally Embedded In Web Pages That Are Run Directly Inside The Web Browser When A Web Page Is Loaded, Without The Need For A Web Browser Plugin. Software Written In Other Programming Languages Can Also Be Run Within The Web Browser If The Software Is Either Translated Into Javascript, Or If A Web Browser Plugin That Supports That Language Is Installed; The Most Common Example Of The Latter Is Actionscript Scripts, Which Are Supported By The Adobe Flash Plugin.
• Web Applications Usually Run On The Web Server And Output Dynamically-Generated Web Pages To Web Browsers, Using E.G. PHP,Java Or ASP.NET, Or Even Javascript That Runs On The Server; In Modern Times They Commonly Include Some Javascript To Be Run In The Web Browser As Well, In Which Case They Typically Run Partly On The Server, Partly In The Web Browser.
• Plugins And Extensions Are Software That Extends Or Modifies The Functionality Of Another Piece Of Software, And Require That Software Be Used In Order To Function;
• Embedded Software Resides As Firmware Within Embedded Systems, Devices Dedicated To A Single Use Or A Few Uses Such As Cars And Televisions (Although Some Embedded Devices Such As Wireless Chipsets Can Themselves Be Part Of An Ordinary, Non-Embedded Computer System Such As A PC Or Smartphone).  In The Embedded System Context There Is Sometimes No Clear Distinction Between The System Software And The Application Software. However, Some Embedded Systems Run Embedded Operating Systems, And These Systems Do Retain The Distinction Between System Software And Application Software (Although Typically There Will Only Be One, Fixed, Application Which Is Always Ran).

• Microcode Is A Special, Relatively Obscure Type Of Embedded Software Which Tells The Processor Itself How To Execute Machine Code, So It Is Actually A Lower Level Than Machine Code  It Is Typically Proprietary To The Processor Manufacturer, And Any Necessary Correctional Microcode Software Updates Are Supplied By Them To Users (Which Is Much Cheaper Than Shipping Replacement Processor Hardware). Thus An Ordinary Programmer Would Not Expect To Ever Have To Deal With It.