What is Computer Software? Software is a set of programs used to run the computer smoothly. We could say that, without software, a computer is actually useless. Computers have no intelligence on their own. It works only when it gets enough information from the software about how to work. Software can be mainly classified into three categories. These are: System Software, Application Software and Programming Software.
System software, as the name suggests, is the software used for the smooth running of the system. In other words, a person using a computer should not have to know the complexities related to the working of the computer. That is it should not be his headache to deal with the hardware of the computer. He should be able to freely do his work. System software plays a part in this. Most users do not know about or understand system software. This is how computer designers expect it to be.
Application software is the software which is used to make good use of the computing. That is computers are mainly intended to reduce human effort by doing difficult tasks. Different educational software, software used for shops, medical software come under this category. Any program that the typical user makes use of while running a computer is considered application software.
Programming software helps the programmer to design computer programs more effectively. This includes a set of programs to develop, test and maintain different software. Programmer is the person who develops computer software. Software should be free of errors for its smooth working.