Software

Everything studied so far — the CPU, memory, input and output devices — is hardware: the physical machinery of a computer system. But hardware on its own does nothing. It must be driven by sets of instructions, and those sets of instructions are what we call software. Software is the component of a computer system that cannot be touched or viewed physically; it consists of the instructions, together with the data to be processed, that make the hardware do useful work. Hardware and software complete every task jointly — neither accomplishes anything alone.

What software is

Software is a set of instructions which, on execution, delivers the desired outcome. Every piece of software is written for some computational purpose — there is always a task it is meant to accomplish. Familiar examples span very different purposes:

• Operating systems — Ubuntu, Windows 7/10
• Word processing tools — LibreOffice Writer, Microsoft Word
• Video player — VLC Player
• Photo editors — Paint, LibreOffice Draw

Softcopy and hardcopy

Two everyday terms describe the two forms in which a document or image can exist:

• A document or image stored on the hard disk or a pen drive is a softcopy — it exists only digitally.
• Once that document or image is printed, it becomes a hardcopy — a physical, paper form. …