Software

• Meaning

– Computer software/software refers to one or

more computer programs and data held in a
storage device for some purpose.
– Program software performs the function of
the program it implements, either by
directly providing instructions to the
computer hardware or serving as input to
another piece of software.
– Data software exists solely for its
eventual use by other program software.
System software
- helps run the computer hardware and computer
system. includes operating systems, device
drivers, programming tools, servers, utilities
and others.

Examples
» Microsoft windows 7
» Mac OS X Snow Leopard
» Linux
» Command Prompt
Application software
- allows a user to accomplish one or more
specific tasks. Normal applications are office
suites, business software educational
software, databases and computer games. Most
of application software has GUIs

Examples
» Crysis 2
» Tom Clancy’s Endwar
» Mozilla Firefox
» Adobe Photoshop
» VLC media player
» AVG anitvirus
Proprietary software
- Proprietary software is computer software
licensed under exclusive legal right of its owner.
The purchaser, or licensee, is given the right
to use the software under certain conditions,
but restricted from other uses, such as
modification, further distribution, or reverse
engineering.

Examples
» Microsoft Windows
» Adobe Flash Player
» PS3 OS
» iTunes
» Adobe Photoshop
» Google Earth
» Skype
» certain versions of Unix
Open Source
- Open-source software is computer software
that is available in source code form for which
the source code and certain other rights normally
reserved for copyright holders are provided under a
software license that permits the users to study,
change, and improve the software. Open source
licenses often meet the requirements of the Open
Source Definition. Some open source software are
available within the public domain. Open source
software is very often developed in a public,
collaborative manner. Open-source software is the
most prominent example of open-source development
and often compared to (technically defined) user-
generated content or (legally defined) open
content movements. The term open- source software
originated as part of a marketing campaign for
free software.
Open Source Definition
The Open Source Definition is used by the Open Source
Initiative in determining whether a software license can
be considered open source.
The definition was based on the Debian Free Software
Guidelines, primarily written and adapted by Bruce
Perens. They are by no means definitive even as applied
to software.

• Introduction
• Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code.
• The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the
following criteria:
• 1. Free Redistribution
• The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away
the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution
containing programs from several different sources. The license shall
not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
• 2. Source Code
• The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in
source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is
not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized
means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable
reproduction cost preferably, downloading via the Internet without
charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a
programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source
code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a
preprocessor or translator are not allowed.
• 3. Derived Works
• The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must
allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of
the original software.
• 4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code
• The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in
modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch
files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the
program at build time. The license must explicitly permit
distribution of software built from modified source code. The
license may require derived works to carry a different name or
version number from the original software.
• 5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
• The license must not discriminate against any person or group of
persons.
• 6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
• The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program
in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict
the program from being used in a business, or from being used for
genetic research.
• 7. Distribution of License
• The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the
program is redistributed without the need for execution of an
additional license by those parties.
• 8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
• The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's
being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is
extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the
terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is
redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted
in conjunction with the original software distribution.
• 9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
• The license must not place restrictions on other software that is
distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the
license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the
same medium must be open-source software.
• 10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral
• No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual
technology or style of interface.

• – Open Source Initiative, http://opensource.org/docs/osd

 Hardware
Definition of Hardware
- Refers to objects like disks, disk drives, display screens
, keyboards, printers, boards, and chips. The key idea is
that the item is something you can touch.
 Output Devices
An output device is any piece of computer hardware
 equipment used to communicate the results of 
data processing carried out by an 
information processing system (such as a computer) to
the outside world.
-examples:
-speakers
-headphones
-screens (monitor)
-printer
 Input Device
An input device is any peripheral (piece of computer hardware
 equipment) used to provide data and control signals to an
information processing system (such as a computer).

Many input devices can be classified according to:

-modality of input (e.g. mechanical motion, audio, visual, etc.)
- the input is discrete (e.g. keypresses) or continuous (e.g. a mouse's
position, though digitized into a discrete quantity, is fast enough to
be considered continuous)
-the number of degrees of freedom involved (e.g. two-dimensional
traditional mice, or three-dimensional navigators designed for CAD
 applications)
-examples of input device
-Computer keyboard
- mouse
- joystick
-pointing stick
-Game controller
-Gamepad (or joypad)
-Paddle (game controller)
-Wii Remote
-digital camera
-fingerprint scanner
-microphone
 Storage

• Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers

to computer components and recording media that retain digital data
used for computing for some interval of time. Computer data storage
provides one of the core functions of the modern computer, that of
information retention
• In contemporary usage, memory usually refers to a form of 
semiconductor storage known as random-access memory (RAM)
and sometimes other forms of fast but temporary storage.
Similarly, storage today more commonly refers to mass storage — 
optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like hard disk drives, and
other types slower than RAM, but of a more permanent nature
Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Software
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/h/hardware.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Output_device
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_device
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_storage