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Top2. About Software
Software consists of “carefully-organized instructions and code written by programmers in any of various special computer languages” (Business Dictionary, 2014). The concept of software includes: “(1) instructions (computer programs) that when executed provide desired features, function, and performance; (2) data structures that enable the programs to adequately manipulate information; and (3) descriptive information in both hard copy and virtual forms that describes the operation and use of the programs” (Pressman, 2010, p. 4).
Software means “something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2014).
In general terms, the software takes on a dual role (Pressman, 2010).
- 1.
It is a Product: It provides the computing power embodied by the computer hardware including a network of computers; and
- 2.
It is a Vehicle for Delivering a Product: It acts as the foundation for the control of the computer (operating system), the network of information (network system), and the creation and control of other programs (software tools and management of the technical environment).
The software supplies the most important artifact of our time: the information (Pressman, 2010).
The idea of software is everywhere: in video games, gas stations, parking lots, credit card machines, scanners, automated teller machines (ATMs), and even at the cash registers in supermarkets and shops. The software is here to stay.
The idea of software refers to the categories of: system software; application software; engineering/scientific software; embedded software; product-line software; web application; and artificial intelligence software (Pressman, 2010).
Likewise, the above seven categories are described as follows (Pressman, 2010).