What is Software? – Definition from Techopedia
The theory of software was first proposed by Alan Turing in 1935 in his essay: Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungs problem. However, the word software was coined by mathematician and statistician John Tukey, in a 1958 issue of American Mathematical Monthly in which he discussed electronic calculators’ programs.
The Four Categories of Software
Programming software
Programming software is a set of tools to aid developers in writing programs. The various tools available are compilers, linkers, debuggers, interpreters and text editors.
System software
System software serves as a base for application software. System software includes device drivers, operating systems (OSs), compilers, disk formatters, text editors and utilities helping the computer to operate more efficiently.
It is also responsible for managing hardware components and providing basic non-task-specific functions. The system software is usually written in the C programming language.
Application software
Application software is intended to perform certain tasks.