Question

List and define the types of System Software. How does System Software differ from Applications Software?

Answer 1

Answer: Operating system, Device driver, Firmware, Translator and Utility are the categories of system software.

Explanation:

Software can be either System software or Application software.

System software includes software to manage resources of the system such as hardware, input/output, and other machine level operations such as translation and compilation of programs.

System software can be categorized into

1 – Operating system: OS forms the interface between the user and hardware. OS hides the complexities of the hardware and provides a graphical user interface to the user for interaction with the system.

2 – Device driver: Every device has its own device driver. The driver forms the interface between the OS and the actual device. The operating system assigns the duties of the device to its driver.

3 – Firmware: This software is programmed on the memory chip. Any upgrades to this software is done by replacing the existing chip with new chips. Hence, this software is firm as per the name unlike other software which can be updated without replacing any component.

4 – Translator: This software translates programming language code to machine language instructions. Compilers, assemblers and interpreters are the types of translator. Translator may either translate complete code or one line of code at a time.

5 – Utilities – This software performs diagnostic and maintenance of the system. Examples include anti-virus, disk partition, data recovery, and the like.

System software vs Application software

1- System software manages computer resources.

Application software performs a particular task for the end user.

2- Installed according to the operating system used.

Applications are installed based on user’s needs.

3- System software works in the background and hence, no user interaction needed.

Application software are intended for the user and enable user interaction.

4- System software execute independently irrespective of applications.

Application software can only execute on the system software.

5- Examples include device driver, data recovery, etc.

Applications include excel, database, etc.