Introduction to System Software: Definition, Features, Types

What Is System Software

What is system software? The system software is a computer program, which is designed to run computer hardware and applications. The system software makes your system faster, effective, and safe. When installing the operating system, the system software is already installed on the computer.

System files include function libraries, system services, printer, and other hardware drivers, system preferences, and other configuration files. If you want to get more information about the system, you can go to the MiniTool official website.

Features of System Software

Here are the features of system software.

• Usually written in a low-level language.
• It has a high speed.
• Less interactive.
• The system software is closer to the system.

Types of System Software

Then, this part is about the different types of system software. The details are as follows:

1. Operating Systems

The operating system is a system software kernel between the computer hardware and the end-user. Operating system software helps you effectively utilize all hardware and software components of your computer system.

The desktop in a modern operating system is a graphical workspace, which contains menus, icons, and applications. These menus, icons, and applications are operated by the user through a mouse-driven cursor or finger touch. Popular OSs for computers are -Windows 10, Mac OS X, Ubuntu.

Also see: Here Are 5 Perfect Solutions to Missing Operating System

2. Device Drivers

Driver software is system software that makes computer equipment and peripherals come to life. The driver enables all connected components and external accessories to perform their expected tasks by the instructions of the operating system. Without the driver, the operating system will not assign any responsibilities.

What Is a Device Driver? Something You Should Know

What is a device driver? What about the types of device drivers? What are its purposes? In this post, we will show you this related information.

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The devices that require drivers including the mouse, keyboard, soundcard, display card, network card, printer. Generally, operating systems come with drivers for most devices on the market. By default, input devices (such as mouse and keyboard) will have their drivers installed.

3. Firmware

The third type of system software is firmware. It is operating software embedded in flash memory, ROM, or EPROM memory chips, and the operating system can recognize it. It directly manages and controls all activities of any single hardware.

Traditional firmware is installed on a non-volatile chip and can only be upgraded by swapping with a new pre-programmed chip. Today, the firmware is stored in the flash memory chip and can be upgraded without replacing the semiconductor chip.

BIOS and UEFI

Today, the most important firmware in a computer has been installed on the motherboard by the manufacturer and can be accessed through the old BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) or the new UEFI (Unified Extended Firmware Interface) platform. It is the configuration interface, which is first loaded when the computer is turned on and passes the POST (Power On Self Test).

Also see: UEFI vs. BIOS – What’s the Differences and Which One Is Better

4. Programming Language Translators

These are intermediate programs that software programmers rely on to convert high-level language source code into machine language code. The former is a collection of programming languages ​​that are easy for humans to understand and code (ie Java, C++, Python, PHP, BASIC). The latter is a complex code that only the processor can understand.

System Software VS Application Software

There is another software on your computer- application software. Application software is a program that does actual work for users. It is mainly created to perform user-specific tasks. Now, let’s see the differences between system software and application software.

• System software is the general software, while application software is special software.
• System software can run independently, but application software cannot run independently.
• System software is designed to manage system resources, such as memory and process management, security, etc., while application software is designed to meet the needs of users to perform specific tasks.
• System software is written in low-level languages ​​such as machine or assembly language, while application software is a high-level language used to write application software.

Final Words

So far, this post has talked about the basic information of the system software. Besides, you can also know the features and types of it. After reading the post, you may have an overall understanding of the system software. Here comes the end of the post.