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It is that part of a computer system which consists of encoded information as opposed to hardware which is used for storing and processing this information. It is a term which is synonymous with computer program but is more generic in scope.
Software term was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1957. In software engineering and computer science, computer software is information processed by computer systems, data and program. Alan Turing first proposed the concept of software in an essay.
At the lowest level computer software consists of a machine language which is specific to an individual processor. Computer software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of computer hardware in a particular sequence. The software is generally written in high level languages which are easier and more efficient for human to use as compared to machine language.
Computer software has been considered as an intermediary between electronic hardware and data which latter the hardware processes according to the sequence of instructions defined by the software. Computer software is considered as an interface between hardware, data and other software.
Computer software an be divided into three classes such as application software, system software and programming software. System software ensures that the user can run computer hardware and computer system including operating system, device drivers, windowing systems, diagnostic tools and some more.
Computer software generates a connection between electronic hardware and data. It enables the user to operate the sequence of data instructions with the help of software. It can use any type of data such as output/input. Sometimes the output of the software could be the input for another software. It provides an interface between hardware, data and other software?
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