What Is a Computer Software - Essay Example

COMPUTER SOFTWARE No - Today's Computer Software One has to understandfirst the meaning of the term "computer software". It is clear that computers have two different elements in their operation - the machines and the language for the operation of the machines. The operations of the two are different and the same machine can be operated in more than one language, or used for a number of different purposes. The languages used to operate the machine are called software. As explained earlier, software is a method of transfer of instructions from men to their machines, or computers. At the same time, this has to be written in special language and plain English is not good enough, and software experts are required to write down these instructions. The ultimate objective is to get ordinary persons to be able to use the computer for their requirements. The nature of software divides it into three portions - operating systems, languages and applications. The first of these is the operating system which sets down the laws for exchange of information between men and the machine. This is taken by users as being part of the machine and is generally seen by individuals when they first switch on their computers. In many cases, for individuals using a computer at home, this is Windows. Till the system becomes functional and the loading of Windows stops, the user will not be able to start using the machine. Anything that is typed by the operator before Windows is ready for taking instructions will only result in the computer just clogging up and stopping operations. At the same time, Windows is not the only possible operation for a computer, as it may also have "UNIX, Apple Mach, Ban, VMS, RS, OS2, Irix, AIX or HP-UX" among others. (Computer Software) However, the operating systems lead to files being written in particular languages, and thus it is difficult for information to be exchanged between computers which have different operating systems. This is very important today in view of the high usage of Internet and sending of mail across the world. That is made simpler as the language for sending information is generally Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. Files in these languages are accepted by all operating systems so that communication is not interrupted. In the same machine also it is possible to have more than one language like having both Windows and Linux, though Windows does not recognize the existence of Linux as it is viewed as a competitor. The next question is of languages used for writing instructions for the operation of the computer. This is the language used by programmers so that the computer itself can translate their instructions to machine language for the operation of the computer. It is important to know that the operations of the computer are carried out in machine language and that is in the simple method of off or on. Off is viewed as zero, and on is viewed as 1. Thus 2 are written in machine language as 10, and three is written as 11, and four as 100. Similarly, there are also codes for the alphabets, and for every character, there are 16 bits or 32 bits being used now. This also results in large sizes for files in computers. One page of typed matter has a size of over 20,000 units of bits. This makes it essential that computers have large storage capacities, presently over 80 gigabytes or 80 trillion bytes. Coming back to the point that we were discussing, some common languages are "C, C++, FORTRAN, COBOL, Pascal, Perl and Java". (Computer Software) Presently, the language popular among programmers is Java, as the instructions in that language can be the shortest. However, the ultimate language for passing on all instructions to the computers is machine language, and this is also the language to which all operating systems and languages translate the instructions before they are passed on to the computer. The machine only understands machine language, and when there is a failure of understanding by the machine, it sends out the instruction that it has received, only in machine language, which is not intelligible to most ordinary users of computers. The average users of computers use it for specific purposes and they are familiar with only applications. These have different functions of communication between users and machine, and are thus limited with that perspective. Even applications for the same purpose written in different languages are not understood by the other language. For example a Microsoft Word file can be read only by Word and not by Excel. There are many different applications to which the computer can be put - "database applications, front end applications, reports applications, word editors, spread sheet editors, presentation, graphic designing, CAD designing, computer games, SCADA" and so on. (Computer Software) The software for different applications will change according to the language in which it is written. The next important question is to find out the methods of any software coming into a computer. Obviously this has to be inserted into the computer by the user or the owner. Among the different types of software, there are four types - "commercial, shareware, freeware and public domain software". (Computer Ethics Right vs. Wrong) Commercial software is available in the stores and the user has to buy a copy along with manuals and other documents and then load it on the system. The problem now is that many people are using software without paying the developers of the software the required price. For shareware, it is simpler as there are no direct charges for the software to be paid. This is only for a limited period after which the shareware is expected to become useless or the user is expected to wipe it off the computer. Freeware is software that is given away totally free by the developer without any limitations, though they still are covered under the copyright acts which will stop individuals from selling the software as their own at a later date. Public domain software is very rare, generally simple and not covered under copyright. Some of this software is used widely and an example can be made of WinZip, which is a shareware program required by all computer users. It is used to compress files that are loaded from the Internet or being sent over it or also for those files stored in the computer. This helps in usage of files downloaded from Internet, and also save space in the computer used for storage. Similar software is the Adobe Acrobat software which helps in reduction of chances of spoilage of files in transit over the Internet and also helps in reduction of direct copying from the files. This has now developed and there are types of acrobat readers which permit a person to read files written in Chinese and similar languages. (Cavanah, 2000) Regarding different types of software, the greatest amount of difficulties are now being faced with commercial software as there is a lot of improper usage of that software. The general license for that type of software is single user and the software is expected to be used by only one user. There are also sales of software made under site license, where the owner is permitted to make as many copies of the software as they feel required as long as all the users are within one common campus or location. The third type of license is for software being used over an entire network. (Computer Ethics Right vs. Wrong) The difficulty that is now coming is with illegal usage of software and piracy of the software, as this causes losses in income for the software developer. There are copyright laws to stop this illegal usage of software, as also on others developing software very similar to the original software, which is called, cloned software. At the same time, the courts have not been giving adequate protection to copyright for software according to software developers. According to the courts, copyrights are only to protect the expression of an idea and do not protect the idea itself. (Why Protect Software through Patents) For software developers within United States and also outside, it is better to register their work with US Copyright Office as that will help them file infringement suits. (Basics of Intellectual Property Protection for Software under U.S. Law) There are also patents that are available regarding software. These are all for individuals who feel that software can be used as a permanent source of income. There are also instances of dominance of the market by different developers of software so that their monopoly cannot be removed. These are the commercial aspects. There are also many organizations involved in the development of software at a low cost for others, as the process is relatively direct and requires more of time than genius. To conclude, software is a type of language for talking to machines, and the question to be considered is whether there can ever be a restriction on development of language It is somewhat like an attempt to curb the freedom of speech. REFERENCES Cavanah, Cassandra. (July, 2000) "Free For All - computer software" Retrieved from Entrepreneur. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DTI/is_7_28/ai_63911533 Accessed 24 January, 2006 "Computer Software" Retrieved from http://www.7jj7.com/learn/software3.htm Accessed 24 January, 2006 Friedman, Marc S; Taylor, Lindsey H. "Basics of Intellectual Property Protection for Software under U.S. Law" Retrieved from http://www.shk-dplc.com/cfo/articles/copyrite.htm Accessed 24 January, 2006 Hames, Rod. "Computer Ethics Right vs. Wrong" Retrieved from http://www.ollnet.com/school/faculty/DonRoque/article3.htm Accessed 24 January, 2006 "Why Protect Software through Patents" Retrieved from http://www.bitlaw.com/software-patent/why-patent.html Accessed 24 January, 2006 Read More