Software: software is a collection of computer programs and related data that provides the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it
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Software Engineering: is the
application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the design,
development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software. The term software engineering first appeared in
the 1968 NATO Software Engineering Conference and was meant to provoke thought
regarding the perceived "software crisis" at the time.
Software
Characteristics:
(1). Software is developed or engineered, it is not manufactured:--
Unlike hardware, software is logical rather than physical. It has to be
designed well before producing it. In spite of availability of many automated
software development tools, it is the skill of the individual, creativity of
the developers and proper management by the project manager that counts for a
good software product.
(2).Software does not "wear out":--As time progresses, the
hardware components start deteriorating-they are subjected to environmental
maladies such as dust, vibration, temperature etc. and at some point of time
they tend to breakdown. The defected components can then be traced and
replaced. But, software is not susceptible to the environmental changes. So, it
does not wear out. The software works exactly the same way even after years it
was first developed unless any charges are introduced to it. The changes in the
software may occur due to the changes in the requirements. And these changes
may introduce some defects in it thus, deteriorating the quality of software, So,
software need to maintained properly.
