Comparison between Application and System Software - Essay Example

Computer programming tools are utilized by the specialized computer programmer to develop, debug and maintain the computer support programs or software applications. The computer programming tools include, but are not limited to debuggers, linkers, compilers, Microsoft software development tools, and Java development tools. The document focuses only on the system and application software and provides their detailed comparison. The initial section of the document contains a description of the system and application software, however, it proceeds with the comparison and contrast between the system software and application software.

The system software is developed specifically for the computer systems so that the computer system starts and runs the application software. After the successful installation of the system software, the computer systems can run separately as well as over the computer network. There are different types of system software including operating systems, device drivers, firmware, Graphical User Interface (GUI), Middleware, and free system software. Initially, the operating system(s) (type of system software) are installed on the bare hardware of the computer system to provide an interface to the computer users for the provision of computer services. The prominent examples of the operating system include Microsoft Windows OS, LINUX, UNIX, and Mac OS. Once even one of the operating systems is installed in the computer system enables the computer user to install various computer utility software to fulfill particular requirements of the computer users. However, the Middleware (type of the system software) can also be installed in the computer system to get functionalities that are even not provided by the operating system. Usually, the Middleware system software is used by the software developers so that they can get an interface to communicate with the computer hardware. It is pertinent to mention here that overall the system software is used for the specialized purpose by advanced users of the computer system.

In contrast to the system software, the application software is used by the end users of the computer system to take benefit of fast, accurate, efficient programs and perform productive tasks. Moreover, on the other hand, the application software is also used for entertainment. These days, the application software is also known as a software application, application program, application, or even short ‘app’. As system software, the application software is of various types including business application software, entertainment, editing/drafting, legal, religious, science, and much more. And from these software application categories, the end user application software takes account of the Microsoft Windows Media Player (entertainment), Microsoft Word (editing/drafting), Microsoft Access (Database), Microsoft Excel (Business / Accounting), Adobe Photoshop (graphics), Web browsers (internet), MSN / Yahoo Messenger and Skype (communication application software). One of the main and most used types of application software is utilized for producing documents. Here I would like to quote the example of Microsoft Office (MS Word), the World’s famous application software used for creating documents – the one in which I am typing/creating this document. Above all, it is pertinent to state here that the application software is used by common users to fulfill their particular requirements.
The terms system software and application software are always confusing to a layman, however, there are huge differences between both terms. The major differences between application software and system software are discussed in the following small yet comprehensive paragraphs.
One of the major differences between both software is that the system software is used to capitalize on the hardware capabilities; however, the application software executes to perform tasks that are beneficial for a particular user.
Moreover, the system software provides a platform to run application software. In other words, it can also be said that the application software is executed as and when required, whereas, the system software is always before the execution of the application software (Morlay and Parker, 2010). For instance, I would like to mention an example of an operating system (in my case Microsoft Windows 7) that was not installed on my laptop (computer system), I was not able to use (install) Microsoft Office for typing / creating this document.

The system software is developed to fulfill a general purpose; however, the application software is developed to fulfill specific requirements keeping in view the problems of the users. One major difference between application software and system software is that without system software (operating system) we cannot use a computer system, however, application software is not essential to use the computer system. Comparatively the numbers of application software are much more than system software (Jamal, 2012).
The system software/program is developed using Dynamic Link Library (DLL) and execution (ex) files while working in Microsoft Windows (Operating System) environment. However, the application software can be developed by using different high-level (sometimes even low-level) computer programming languages. Read More