General Definition of Software (Essay Sample)
Please write a review for each peer response.
Assignment: What is the difference between system software and application software?
Please provide at least two examples of each.
Response 1:
Software is used by a computer as a set of instructions for a certain task or tasks.There are two different types of software used by a computer system that allow it to function. These two types of software are system software and application software.
System software is what a computer uses for its basic usage. Windows 8, an operating system, for example, is a type of operating system. It enables to computer to perform basic tasks but also allows the computer to diagnose issues such as an issue with an internet connection. Device drivers are another form of system software. These types of software enable outside sources to communicate with your computer. For example, when you buy and hook up a new printer, driver software needs to be installed in order for the computer to send data to the printer. These tasks are done in the background, or behind the scenes, and don’t usually show anything unless there is an issue.
The other type of software that computers use is application software. These types of software allow a user to complete real life tasks, such as editing a picture or listening to music. One form of this type of software would be Microsoft Word, or any other word processing applications. Word processing applications allow users to write papers or notes when needed. Photoshop would be another type of application software used by a user. This is known as a photo editing type of software, allowing you to simply edit pictures that have been downloaded to a computer.
Response 2:
What is the difference between system software and application software?
The difference is a system software is any computer software which manages and controls computer hardware so that application software can perform a task. Operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X or Linux, are prominent examples of system software. System software contrasts with application software, which are programs that enable the end-user to perform specific, productive tasks, such as word processing or image manipulation.
System software performs tasks like transferring data from memory to disk, or rendering text onto a display device. Specific kinds of system software include loading programs, operating systems, device drivers, programming tools, compilers, assemblers, and utility software.
Application software
The subclass of a computer program which utilizes the capabilities of computer is called application software. Application here means the application software and the implementation. The example of application software programs includes media players, spreadsheets and word processors. When multiple applications are packaged together then it is called application suite.
Discussion 3
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Response 1
The introduction gives a general definition of software. A broader and substantially deeper description of system software would be ‘a set of programs or instructions that interacts directly with the computer hardware and which is used to perform system level tasks’. The response should have outlined the different types of operations carried out by the system software like input and output management and provide an example. Device drivers manage input and output operations in a computer e.g. a printer driver. The operating systems provides a friendly user interface to the user and manages the various application software installed in the computer. Arguably, application software performs real life tasks like editing pictures and playing music. The examples provided by the respondent clearly relay the functionality behind many kinds of software. However, a photo editing software manipulates photos and videos whose source can vary from internet downloads to recordings or even to captions.
Response 2
The response given presents a brief definition of the terms in question which also indicates the relationship between the two types of software. The examples given are appropriate, while the use of cont...
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