Software

Software instructs computer to perform specific tasks. It can be a single program or collection of programs. Software has a wide meaning and anything that is stored electronically can be called software. Unlike hardware, we cannot touch software.

Without software, computer is useless. Software tells the computer what to do and how to do it.

Software definition
Software is a collection of computer programs and various data that is used to instruct a computer to perform specific tasks or operations.

There are two categories of software:

  1. System Software
  2. Application Software

Software and hardware are two basic components of a computer. Without software, hardware cannot work and vice versa. Hence, they both are often called as two sides of the same coin.

Note: There is no plural form of software. The term ‘software’ is used for both singular and plural use.

Fact: The term ‘software’ was coined by John Wilder Turkey, an American statistician in 1958.