software: what are they?

Software: what are they? This is the question of I been receiving from thousand of people so I will be looking into that today.

Computer software, or just software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system. At its lowest level, software consists of a machine language that is specific to an individual processor, but usually software is written in a higher level language such as C++.The majority of software can be divided into three types: system software, which helps run the computer (including operating systems like Microsoft Vista, and Mac Leopard); programming software (tools to assist the programmer in writing software, like Microsoft Visual Studio and Altova's XML Spy); and application software that lets end users accomplish one or more tasks (including, for example, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Microsoft Office). Software can also be divided into two other business camps. One is the for profit camp where software is sold via licensing agreements; these include most of the software listed above, and the other is the non-profit or open source software camp where the licensing requires that it and all derivatives remain freely available to all; these include Linux, GIMP, and MySQL.


The term includes:
Application software such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users.
Firmware which is software programmed resident to electrically programmable memory devices on board mainboards or other types of integrated hardware carriers.
Middleware which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.
System software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for application software.
Software testing is a domain independent of development and programming. It consists of various methods to test and declare a software product fit before it can be launched for use by either an individual or a group. Many tests on functionality, performance and appearance are conducted by modern testers with various tools such as QTP, Load runner, Black box testing etc to edit a checklist of requirements against the developed code. ISTQB is a certification that is in demand for engineers who want to pursue a career in testing.[2]
Testware which is an umbrella term or container term for all utilities and application software that serve in combination for testing a software package but not necessarily may optionally contribute to operational purposes. As such, testware is not a standing configuration but merely a working environment for application software or subsets thereof.
Software includes websites, programs, video games, etc. that are coded by programming languages like C, C++, etc.
"Software" is sometimes used in a broader context to mean anything which is not hardware but which is used with hardware, such as film, tapes and records.