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Software consists of computer programs that instruct the execution of a computer. [1] Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital computers in the mid-20th century.
Computer science is more theoretical (Turing's essay is an example of computer science), whereas software engineering is focused on more practical concerns. However, prior to 1946, software as we now understand it – programs stored in the memory of stored-program digital computers – did not yet exist.
The term computer system may refer to a nominally complete computer that includes the hardware, operating system, software, and peripheral equipment needed and used for full operation; or to a group of computers that are linked and function together, such as a computer network or computer cluster.
A programmer, computer programmer, or coder is a person who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to programming may also be known as a programmer analyst.
Operating systems include the software that is always running, called a kernel—but can include other software as well. [6] [8] The two other types of programs that can run on a computer are system programs—which are associated with the operating system, but may not be part of the kernel—and applications—all other software. [8]
The first digital electronic computer was developed in the period April 1936 - June 1939, in the IBM Patent Department, Endicott, New York by Arthur Halsey Dickinson. [35] [36] [37] In this computer IBM introduced, a calculating device with a keyboard, processor and electronic output (display). The competitor to IBM was the digital electronic ...
Software development entails the establishment of a systems development life cycle of a software product. It encompasses a planned and structured process from the conception of the desired software to its final manifestation, [4] which constitutes computer programming, the process of writing and maintaining the source code.
Soft computing is an umbrella term used to describe types of algorithms that produce approximate solutions to unsolvable high-level problems in computer science. Typically, traditional hard-computing algorithms heavily rely on concrete data and mathematical models to produce solutions to problems.