Even if it seems to us that the PC is much smarter than we are, it remains a lifeless “iron”, until programs are installed in it. It is thanks to them the technique begins to count, think and help with any array of data. In this article we will briefly list the main types of system software for computers and give each type a characteristic.

The notion

Any modern PC – desktop, laptop or server – is filled according to a similar principle. If you take away the superfluous, any software, even the simplest, is built according to a similar algorithm. Step-by-step actions should be performed – the next step starts only after the previous one has been completed.

Thus, symbols entered from the keyboard are displayed on the screen, at the user’s command click the printer starts printing them on the paper, and the calculation takes place by itself after the formula is entered. Any step is pre-programmed and called a command for the computer, the set of steps is indicated by a programmable code.
Programmers are the people who develop and configure the software. They can control the PC with a single line, in which pieces of coded information are entered. A few characters in a certain sequence turn on music, send a document to print, or open a particular page of an Internet resource.

What types of software are there: Characteristics of programs

In modern computers, a large number of software with a wide variety of functionality is constantly running and actively functioning. Some do arithmetic calculations, others build charts, draw or help to stay in line with interlocutors through email.

However, nothing is activated for nothing. Everything operates under the influence of the operating system. It seems that the OS is completely unnecessary – you can run everything directly. Sometimes this method is used too. This is how CNC machines, large automatic production machines, computers, and other serious mechanisms work, when the same algorithm has to be repeated all the time.

But for a personal computer, frequent repetition of a command is not suitable. The user wants to know what the weather is like in another city, how to play music and open a text document for editing. It is necessary that the OS supports multitasking.

On the part of programmers, software types are justified by practicality. If there were no operating system, we would have to put all the functions and algorithms into one huge code. The time required to do this would be enormous.

The OS takes care of most of the routine tasks, allowing users to work in multitasking mode. Therefore, it becomes possible to run from 2 to infinite editors or visualizers simultaneously.

What are the main types of software by purpose

The software installed on a PC is divided into 3 varieties:

• application software;
• system;
• Instrumental.

System software

This is the part of the system that helps monitor and control the hardware side of the PC. This includes programs that control the operation of RAM, CPU, graphics card, input and output devices, and network routines.

Such software is considered to be:

• Drivers – small-sized utilities whose function is to ensure the correct operation of the rest of the hardware;
• OS;
• Add-ons – language packages or screen expansion settings.

The main difference between the system variety is that it is not designed to perform a specific task. It is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the other parts of the computer. It can be called an intermediary between the hardware – “iron” and the software code.

Application

The most extensive part of the classification. This includes graphics and text editors, browsers, databases and anything else people use in their daily work on the computer. Here are also antivirus packages, accounting and various archives.

The point of this variety is to perform a clearly defined task: to draw, to count, to open the network pages, to type. If a utility is needed to perform a specific action, it is application software.

Instrumental

Specific software for any computer technology. It could be classified as application software, but because of its specific application it has been singled out as a separate type. Its main function is debugging, adjusting, rewriting program code.

This includes compilers, debuggers, high-level interpreters, editors, interpreters and other tools. They are necessary because machines don’t understand human words. It needs a special “machine language” to “explain” what to do.

The difference between commonly used compilers and interpreters is that the first generates a finished file that can be run. And the second creates an archive that functions only with the service itself.

It is difficult for basic users to use this code all the time, so systems have been developed which translate ordinary speech into binary language, familiar to PCs.