Software

Everything studied so far — CPU, memory, buses, storage, input/output devices — is the hardware of the computer system: its physical components. But hardware on its own is of no use. It must be operated by sets of instructions, and those sets of instructions are what we call software.

What software is

• Software is the component of a computer system that we cannot touch or view physically.
• It comprises the instructions and the data to be processed using the computer hardware.
• Hardware and software complete every task together — neither can accomplish anything alone.
• Each piece of software is a set of instructions which, on execution, delivers a desired outcome — in other words, every software is written for some computational purpose.

Examples of software

• Operating systems — Ubuntu, Windows 7/10.
• Word processing tools — LibreOffice, Microsoft Word.
• Video players — VLC Player.
• Photo editors — GIMP, LibreOffice Draw.

Soft-copy vs hard-copy

Two related terms defined here:

• A document or image stored on the hard disk or a pen drive is a soft-copy.
• Once printed, that document or image becomes a hard-copy. …