Computer Software

Software is like a recipe for a computer. It tells the computer what to do step by step. You cannot touch software because it is not a physical thing. Games, apps, and web browsers are all types of software.

Types of Software

There are two main types of software. System software runs the computer itself, like Windows or macOS. Application software is what you use, like games or drawing programs. Every app on a phone is a piece of software too.

How Software Is Made

People called programmers write software using special languages. These languages have rules, just like English or Spanish. Programmers type instructions that the computer can follow. It takes many lines of instructions to make even a simple app.

Fun Facts

• The video game Minecraft was written in a programming language called Java.
• Some software is free for anyone to use and change, called open source.
• The average smartphone has about 80 apps installed on it.

Did You Know?

The word "software" was first used in 1958. It was chosen because it is the opposite of "hardware," which means the hard, physical parts of a computer.