Software is nothing but a series of instructions and information which tell the computer how to operate. This is unlike in physical hardware where the machine actually does the work and is assembled. It is very important that software be well developed and made available to the users. If they find it difficult to understand or use the software then there will be minimal use of the software. In the same way as a person needs the right food and nutrition so does a computer need software that is user friendly.
The need for software engineers arises because of the growing number of changes that have to be done on the various computer platforms. These modifications are for the betterment of the machines and the business owners cannot afford to sit and do all the changes by themselves. Instead they seek help from people who can provide them with a good software design team. Such a team will work on the software design and then test it before it is rolled out into the operating systems.
There are also some software developers who specialize in developing only proprietary software and have thus exclusive access to certain software libraries. The programmers working for such companies are known as proprietary programmers and are generally not available to the end users. A programmer can work on proprietary software for a company for several years, but if he wishes to try out different applications on different platforms, he has to give up this privilege.
There are also special computer programmers who write the source code of the programs and are allowed to transfer the code by sharing it with other computer programmers. They can help out the other computer programmers in their work and hence share the source code. This form of open-source software also allows other computer programmers to modify the source code and use it for their own purpose. These programmers have the freedom to market modified versions of the software that they develop. They are also able to sell modified versions of the software to end users.
It must be noted that most software developers and their clients are mostly companies. So they work to provide better service at a lower cost. Therefore, people prefer open source software to get the same quality of service at a lower price. This makes them appeal to more users. Some of the common software that people prefer open source software for include gaming software, content management system, web server and database applications among others.
System software, also known as main types of computer program, are the ones that make up the body of a program. There are many main types of system software and they include application software, desktop software, window system software, control systems, network operating system software and so forth. Each main type of system software has its own specification, but most main types of computer program software can be grouped under three main headings. They are: first, system software; second, data application software; and third, user program software. Among the main types of system software, most common and the most important among them is the system software.
The application software refers to those computer programs that directly affect how programs work on computers. Most common among this group are accounting, word processing, web designing, game design, music production and so on. A good example of an application software would be Microsoft Office, which is universally used by most people in all professions. Another example of a very popular application software would be WordPress, which is widely used by bloggers. Most computer programmers prefer to use application software because they are easier to learn.
A computer programmer uses application software to create visual designs, which is then converted into text or into images using a graphic editing program. Visual designing is more often used by graphic or web designers than by computer programmers because the former requires more thought and planning before it is actually done. One example of a visual designing program would be Photoshop, which is used by most aspiring artists to create unique and original paintings and photos.
