A computer software is a set of instructions (codes) written in different programming languages and used to perform various tasks on a computer. There are basically two types of computer Softwares.
System Softwares
These are essential softwares required for operation of any hardware machine (computer) some examples are operating systems, device driver softwares and utility programs that manages computer resources. Generally these softwares are Low Level Languages programs, they interact with the hardware and peripherals at very basic level.Examples of system software are :-
- Operating system
Operating system is the main system software upon which application software are installed. Linux, Windows, and MacOS are some examples of operating system. They are provided by different vendors some of them are paid, while others are free to use.
- Device Drivers
These are programs that are essential for.communication between device hardware and the computer’s operating system. These programs are required for proper functioning of the specific devices. You can get them directly from the manufacturer while installing them.
For example if you connect a GPU to your system without its proper driver, then it will not work until a proper driver is installed from the manufacturer.
- Utility softwares
These are programs required for optimisation, safety and disk maintenance of the operating systems. These kind of softwares comes bundled with OS, you can also download them , high privileged access is required to install these softwares. Some examples of utility softwares are Antivirus Software, Disk cleanup softwares, Data recovery softwares and defragmentation softwares.
Application Softwares
Application softwares are useful for performing specific tasks on your computer system. They are dependent on system softwares for their operations. Application softwares can be classified into:
- Productivity Software
Softwares used to help enhance the productivity of users in their work performance are termed as productivity softwares. Different types of productivity softwares are word processing software, spreadsheets, power point presentation softwares, note taking softwares, task managers etc.
- Web Browsers
These are computer softwares used for surfing the ocean of internet. Browsers are used to access data from different type of web servers and provide graphical display for web pages written using HTML, Javascript, etc.
- Gaming Software
These are softwares specially designed for gaming purpose like different gaming engines, OBS studio for recording games, Discord (software for communication between gamers).
- Educational Software
These softwares are specially designed for teaching and learning new languages, academics and different online courses. Some examples of educational softwares are Google classroom, Udemy, Blackboard, Canvas and educational simulators. These softwares are quite useful in making online education possible.
- Multimedia Software
These are a class of softwares used for manipulating multimedia contents. Video editing, Audio editing, Animation and 3d modeling softwares belongs to this category. Some examples of Multimedia softwares are VLC media player, Adobe photoshop, Adobe creative cloud, Audacity, Camtasia etc.
- Communication Software
Software which are used to call, chat, message, email to someone are called communication softwares. Examples of communication softwares are Email clients, Instant Messaging apps, Video conferencing softwares, collaboration softwares etc.